


The Expedition of V. Valentine; Semi-Retired Turk

by Gothams_Only_Wolf



Series: Under The Wing of A Nibel Dragon [3]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Choking, Cid has a potty mouth, Creepy Hojo (Compilation FFVII), Fix-It of Sorts, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Pre-Slash, Sephiroth's parents are gay af, The Limit Breaks have personalities, Turk Vincent Valentine, Vincent Valentine is Sephiroth's Dad, Vincent Valentine is a BAMF, Vincent wants to set Hojo on fire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-11
Updated: 2018-07-08
Packaged: 2018-12-01 01:46:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 25
Words: 29,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11476002
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gothams_Only_Wolf/pseuds/Gothams_Only_Wolf
Summary: The Valentine family motto simply says, "All sins can be atoned for if you ask for forgiveness."Vincent has atoned for more than a decade and now seeks out the sole remaining connection to the woman he once loved; Sephiroth.Companion piece to Lt. Strife's Hopeful Soul and Of Courage, Promotion and Skirmishes: A Narrative by Captain Strife Vol. I





	1. The Valentine Lament

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Caterfree10](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caterfree10/gifts), [RainofLittleFishes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RainofLittleFishes/gifts).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote out a draft for this before but it wasn't what I wanted and I scrapped it. This one ran much smoother, which I'm happy about. 
> 
> Enjoy~

* * *

Across the ocean and in an evironment so cold it froze nearly everything, a pair of glowing red eyes snapped open in pitch darkness. 

Vincent gasped as he awoke, pushing at the confinement and then sobbing at the dream he'd had; a dream instead of his usual nightmares. 

"Vincent, the baby... His name is Sephiroth. I don't know if you're still there but I cannot begin to speak of how sorry I really am, my Sharpshooter. If you can find him, please..." 

Lucrecia had been crying but he remembered the weight of her on the-coffin. He'd been at rest in a coffin. 

He'd been... Vincent fumbled underneath his shirt, hand pressed against a thick scar with puckered edges. 

How, in Bahamut's glory, was he even _**alive**_? 

The answer was distasteful when it arrived and his lips peeled up to bare his teeth. 

Hojo. 

Of course the scientist hadn't been able to resist both a live subject and a deceased one. 

He rebuttoned his clothing and stepped out of the coffin, gripping the edge as his legs didn't hold him up for long. 

Why was he awake? 

How long had he been asleep? 

Where was Sephiroth now? 

_Fear not, Vincent._ The soft voice brought thoughts of green things but Vincent was still suspicious. _I woke you. You've been asleep for nearly twelve years and I suggest you start looking for Sephiroth in Midgar._

"Who... Who are you?" He asked, unsure if the figment of his imagination would lie. 

_Someone who knows Sephiroth._

Well then, not a liar after all. 

_As much as I enjoy your sarcasm, Vincent, I can't hold this for much longer. Make your way to the Golden Hunter's Lodge, book passage there if you can. If not, I can only tell you to trust what's inside you._

* * *

Vincent used the walls of the room as a crutch as he relearned how to walk after nearly twelve years stiff in a coffin. He noticed quickly, even with brass-colored sabatons bolted to his Turk-issued boots, that his footsteps were abnormally quiet. 

He could see in the room, despite knowing it was dark. 

Just **what** had Hojo had done to his body? 

It left him stronger, faster and quieter than Vincent ever remembered being. 

He made sure that he could walk and run before he left the room in search of his old Quicksilver. 

In the glowing light of the dusty lab, he realized his left hand was encased in a brass-colored gauntlet. Vincent flexed his hand and listened as his stiff fingers relayed extremely dulled pain and the gauntlet moved smoothly. 

The injury, mostly likely Hojo, had been fixed with the gauntlet. 

... Had Lucrecia pieced him back together? Just how much of him was a scarred monster? 

He darted to where he knew there was a mirror in decent lighting and stripped himself of the rich, red cloak and his shirt. 

The Valentine wing had been untouched, the skin around it pristine and porcelain pale. He matched it but the scars... The scars were a harsh red that stood out even more, cutting across his chest, his back and the worst were at the juncture where his left arm met the gauntlet. 

What unsettled him the most wasn't the scars. 

It was his eyes, formerly a familiar wine color, that scared him. They'd turned a glowing crimson, nearly the same as the cloak he'd found himself in. 

He shook his head and chided himself for forgetting why he was awake. 

Sephiroth. 

He'd find the child for Lucrecia's sake and it gave him a purpose. 

Vincent reclothed himself, shivering in the cold that he knew was Nibelheim in the height of spring. 

When the cloak settled on his shoulders, the cold ceased as if it had never happened and warmth settled in its place. 

He made a mental note of it and went in search of his gun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment, complain, ect.


	2. False Information and the Horrors Within

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be fair, not everyone likes my interpretation of Vincent and his demons/Limit Breaks. If you like them, that's okay; if you don't, I apologize in advance. 
> 
> Enjoy?

* * *

The monsters in the ShinRa Mansion fell under the gauntlet, their chests or skulls caved in under the strength of his strikes. Each room had new and equally terrible monsters until he reached what he knew to be the basement, past the room that had formerly held him. 

He took down a book, curious to see what remained when he read the label. 

**A Treatise on The Cetra known as JENOVA**

**Professor Orwell**

**Junon University, 1890.**

Junon University hadn't been founded until the time of Vincent's great-grandfather in 1902. Vincent shredded the thick book in his gauntlet claws as his fist closed around the false information. 

This was a trap, carefully laid and planned out, but for whom was it meant? 

Vincent tore through the library, shredding all the books that mentioned JENOVA as a Cetra or if they had a false university founding date. 

He plucked out the notes in Hojo's horrendous penmanship and set them in a pile. 

It turned to three piles. 

One detailed his own suffering at the hands of that depraved scientist, one detailed expirements done on a child—a four-year-old—that had him swallowing bile and the final pile detailed what JENOVA actually was; an unknown element that was most certainly _not_ a Cetra. 

He tucked them into his inventory, surprised to find his gun. 

The missing bullet had him somber but realistic as he counted the rest of his ammunition.

Several hours had passed and he was neither hungry nor thirsty. The remaining dusty ready-to-eat meals didn't appeal to his senses. 

He flexed his left hand and sniffed at the blood that remained on it. That woke his senses and he recoiled suddenly. 

Just what was he now that wanted blood and from monsters at that? 

Trust what was inside of him... That sounded like a warning rather than anything helpful.

* * *

ShinRa Mansion hadn't decayed much in the years he was asleep but neither had it done well. Windows were cracked and one was shattered entirely, carrying with it the scent of cold and more monsters. 

Vincent began to understand that perhaps the less he knew about his body the better. 

He pursued the scent of monsters higher and higher into the Nibel Range. The Nibel wolves circled but cowered when Vincent wandered closer in the light drifts of snow. 

That spoke of an apex predator that lay within him. He centered himself in the drifts and spoke in his mind rather than out loud. 

_Where is the one that liked the smell of monster blood?_ he questioned. 

The voice had been-

**_Ah. I see you're awake at long last, my Host._** The laugh that reached him made his survival instincts quiver. 

_Are you it?_ Vincent asked despite his inital fear. 

**_No._** the smooth voice felt menacing but tempered, though by what Vincent couldn't tell. **_I am Chaos. The voice was someone who speaks to the Planet. I thought all of them lost but here we are with two. Who is the child that woke you and, by extension, the rest of us?_**

_You aren't touching him!_ Vincent snarled out loud at that, his right hand reaching for his gun before he fully processed where he was. 

**_Never asked to touch, silly Host. I merely asked who he was to you to bring about such a state._** Chaos ruthlessly pressed. **_Trust me when I say you want nothing to do with the creature that wants monster blood and that I am the most civil of all of them._**

_No. I want to know it._

**_You are frightened. You reek of it and yet, you want... you want to feed it. Galian Beast is no eloquent being. I will warn you of that._** Chaos scoffed before he vanished and a sickly blue passed Vincent's vision. 

**Blood? Food? Kill.** Galian growled and Vincent's control shuddered as he felt it creep into his limbs. 

_No! Why do you want it? I'll give it to you but I want to know why._ Vincent countered harshly. 

His entire body jerked but he held onto the iron will granted by his Father and his Turk training. 

**Like the taste. Not tainted by nasty chemical. Natural. Good energy. Wolf can do. Dragon better.** Galian grudgingly explained in halting sentences. **Not make you taste it if you want.**

_Fine. In the mountains you can have your fill but kill only single monsters and nothing toxic to humans._ Vincent pursuaded. 

**... Deal. **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment, complain, ect.


	3. Sharpshooter the Traveling Hunter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Vincent begins his journey to the east! 
> 
> Enjoy~

* * *

True to the letter of the word, if nothing else, Galian Beast got him down the mountain after a visit to a grave that smelled familiar if somewhat dulled by years of abandonment. 

**Who that?**

_A friend._

**Find friend?**

_Maybe._ He allowed briefly.

* * *

Gil from monster hunts resupplied his gun at the foot of the Nibel Range. He kept the cloak, though the Nibel dragon hide jackets with Nibel wolf trim would sell for a ridiculous price once he'd made it to Midgar or even at the Golden Hunter's Lodge. 

Such novelties were rare and not every monster hunter was fool enough to tackle an entire Nibel Dragon on their own. Galian had killed three Nibel Dragons and had only ripped out the throat, much to Vincent's horror. Nibel Wolves were another kind of awful on their own and if you killed one, the rest would pursue you unless you killed them all.

Even the hunting lodge had been asking whether or not he'd be selling the other sections of hide he'd also processed. 

"... I can be persuaded to part with some." Vincent admitted carefully. "Information for the hide and it depends on the info." 

"Huh. Well, what d'you need?" The lodge owner chewed on jerky but put it away when Vincent rose a brow. 

"The latest newspaper you have and if ShinRa or their goons have been this way recently." 

"You're one lucky sonofabitch. Jus' got the newspaper today an' ShinRa ain't been seen 'round here since close on ten years ago. Oh sure, they bring folks up now 'n again fer maintainin' that thing in Nibelheim but nothing serious." The lodge owner handed over a recent newspaper and a ShinRa bulletin showing a light-haired child and a dead, incredibly large Aeronite. 

Vincent scanned over both and nodded his thanks. "You can keep the one that's processing now. Should make enough of a coat for someone." 

The lodge owner gaped but stuttered out, "A-all of that for a newspaper an' a bulletin?!" 

"As I said, the information is more important than materials that cannot easily be gathered. Perhaps some mead or ale if you carry it but... You wouldn't happen to have a smoker, would you?" 

Wolf and Dragon jerky would be a better substitute than the real thing and Galian couldn't complain when it was made of materials that were natural. 

"Sure! It's out back. This mean you're staying?" 

"I've got a Tent, if you're worried." Vincent reassured. "... It's just that I need to smoke some meat and I might need it for a few days." 

"You're a travelin' hunter then. Bet ya sell t' those rich pukes in Midgar. The price that hide'll fetch me'll more than cover any costs ya want." 

"No, just the smoker and perhaps a few drinks. I've got wolf fur but that's easy to find." 

"From further north?" 

Vincent nodded. 

"You willin' to part with a few? Th' fur is real nice up there." 

"... What are you willing to give?" 

They fell into bartering, though Vincent struck a decent bargain; a truck ride to the edge of the Corel Range without subjecting himself to more monsters than necessary. 

"What can I call ya then?" 

"Sharpshooter." 

"No names, huh?" 

"It's a name I'll respond to." He countered genially. 

"... Alright. Most don't even bother with that, so you're a sight better 'n some folks."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment, complain, ect.


	4. Possibilities of Icarus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, a serious question for my lovely readers: 
> 
> Do I leave it with Vincent crossing the sea via Chaos or do I detail all the way up when Vincent finds out that Seph is his kiddo? 
> 
> Enjoy and please comment your choice below~

* * *

'Sharpshooter' made his way across the Western Continent easily and made a few aquaintences as a traveling hunter. 

By the time his dusty boots shuffled into the Golden Hunter's Lodge, he looked the part of a hunter, rather than some stranger who looked a little off. He knew how to blend in and it suited him better to tell half-truths rather than out-right lies.

Turk training hadn't gotten it out of him and neither would a decade spent sleeping. 

"Hey, Sharpshooter, over here! Get our friend here a mead." Helga, one of his more frequent hunting friends, waved him over. "So, how's the Corel area been treating you?" 

"... Well enough." He remarked dryly after discreetly casting Libra on his drink and taking a decent swallow. "I fought enough Grand Horns and Harpies on the way here to gamble at those tables over there, if I wanted." 

"You're quieter than a Jumping but when you talk... I'm glad we're friends instead of enemies." Helga muttered before she brightened. "Speaking of friends, have you chatted up the ladies?" 

"I think I'll lay off of women for a while. My last relationship is... described as tempestuous at best." Vincent allowed. "She was brilliant and beautiful but I'm afraid she was my sun and I the Icarus that fell in her wake." 

"Ouch. At least you're free?" Helga winced in sympathy. 

"Not quite. I'm searching for her son." 

"Oh. _Oh_. She passed on, I'm guessing. You think he's yours?" Helga clucked her tongue at that. "I wish you luck." 

No. 

Helga had no way of knowing his history and if Sephiroth had been his son... Oh what sin had he committed in a past life that would punish such a child? 

"I'll see about it when I meet him." Vincent managed after several moments.

* * *

The thought Helga had unknowingly brought to the surface kept what little sleep he'd managed to earn restless. 

He stayed for a few days, learned that ShinRa now had a program called SOLDIER and that it's poster child was an actual child. 

"They say he's got silver hair and these cat eyes that send shivers down your spine." 

"Wields a sword that's three times his size and cut down a Aeronite like it was nothin'." 

"No one caught his name. Didn't bother to ask those ShinRa pukes." 

The information he learned by listening and offering a sympathetic ear was invaluable to his search. 

"They send 'im up against those Mako-drunk beasts that we can't handle. Poor kid can't be older 'n ten or eleven at the most."

* * *

Booking passage would have been easier if his identification card wasn't a decade old and ShinRa hadn't been combing over the passengers with a fine-toothed comb after a recent attack on the Corel Reactor. 

He sighed and resigned himself to having to row his way across to the eastern continent when one of the creatures that shared his mind insisted on his attention. 

**_I can fly us across._** Chaos murmured, the golden mist that crossed Vincent's vision a little more pleasant than Galian's blue. **_We're just going to need to eat a lot on both sides and you're going to have to surrender control to me._**

_How do I know you won't just undo what I trekked?_ Vincent questioned suspiciously. 

**_Please, my Host, save your suspicion for the others. I cannot lie and I wish to see the boy that may or may not be of your blood. For someone who doesn't talk out loud very much, your thoughts are a tangled mess._** Chaos sneered. 

_Swear it by Bahamut and I might warm up to the idea._ Vincent replied with only an outward huff betraying his emotions. 

**_Bahamut? You would trust a Summon over me? Of all the beings to be trapped in... You are the worst. Fine. I swear by Bahamut the Winged Beast that I will only take us across the sea to the Canyon._** Chaos grumbled and Vincent carefully kept a hold of the notion that just as he was trapped with them, so they too were trapped with him. **_Happy now?_**

_You should've asked why I insisted on Bahamut. He's the deity that protects my family from harm... for the most part._ Vincent may not like the situation but he would do his damnedest to get along with the creatures for harmony's sake. 

**_Ah yes, the bullet through your chest would suggest that Bahamut... Hmm. I wonder if perhaps your little hunter was right after all._** Chaos mused but dispersed with a shake of Vincent's head. 

_Again_ , the insinuation that Sephiroth was...

But the thought that Bahamut left him to protect a child was less of a sting than thinking he'd been abandoned altogether. 

Sephiroth had been Hojo's, much as the bitterness stung. 

If his Father had still been alive, he would have been estatic but the thought of another Valentine, a son at that-No. 

It was best to ignore such things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment, complain, ect.


	5. The Journey to The East

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The vote was all for Vincent discovering that he's a Dad so here's a chapter to celebrate! 
> 
> Enjoy~

* * *

Vincent had a decent meal, full of proteins and he made sure everything was as natural as it could be with Galian in mind. 

He slept heavily after the meal and then, when it was nearly pitch black to everyone but him, he carefully walked to the edge of the beach. 

_Chaos?_ He sank into a medative state, poking curiously at the misty place he found himself in. 

**_Ah. You're meditating. This will make this much easier._ **

_Make what easier?_ Vincent asked and regretted it not a moment later as his body jerked, cracked and the grisly sound of bones breaking reached him in the shadowy place. _Remind me to stop asking you questions. You take advantage of my distraction._ He growled irritably as Chaos stretched each of his limbs carefully. 

**_The enhancements made to this body make it quite the vessel. What sours me is that it was not willingly done; I can feel the way you resisted, even half-dead. Would you like me to fix the crystals of Mako in your bloodstream?_** Chaos murmured as he flexed what felt like... Wings?! 

Vincent's knee-jerk reaction to look sent the leathery wings forward as they curved in as though to show off. 

_I have become the monster I swore I would not—_ Vincent started, shame welling up as he dwelled on what he'd become. 

**_Cease such thoughts at once!_** Chaos roared. **_The true monsters are the scientists who rendered you in such a state! Hojo, you name in distaste. Crescent, you continue to be soft with, be sweet with when it was she who placed me within you._**

_**What?**_ He clutched at his chest, gauntlet convulsing as the faded memories return with Lucrecia wielding a needle, her eyes feverish. _I... The breadth of such... **cruelty** is not beneath any person, it seems. Did she ever reveal why?_

**_Control. She finally had a body strong enough to contain me should it be necessary._** Chaos spat as he ran along the beach in sweeping strides before he launched into the air. **_I think, Host, that perhaps this arrangement may yet prove to be beneficial. If we work together, it could prove to be detrimental to those who sought to ruin us._**

_I have notes, both hers and his._ Vincent offered as the great wings cut through the sky and above the cloud cover. 

**_I do not wish to be released just yet nor do I wish for your search to end in your death. As I said, this... dependence could be to our mutal benefit._** Chaos soothed as he spun in a tight spiral, the giddy feeling in Vincent's chest likely the demon's but it felt wonderful after so many years cut off from the world by a single wooden box. 

_My name is Vincent._

**_I'm not a demon,_** Chaos chuckled, **_but I'm glad to learn your name. Let us show the world that a partnership between an ancient force and a Turk is one that cannot be beaten._**

* * *

They stumbled as Chaos lost control and Vincent nearly landed face first on the inlet of the river that had carved the massive canyon that lay before him. 

_Thank you._

**_... You're welcome, my Host._**

Vincent grimaced at the sand in his boots but trudged his way through the slush to get to the tiny edge of land that wasn't quite canyon but wasn't quite beach either. 

He curled up into a ball to conserve heat, a small red lump against the vast orange walls of the canyon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment, complain, ect.


	6. The Wisdom of Firewolves

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> By the way, we'll eventually see all of AVALANCHE 3.0 (Cloud & Co.), just at different places in their lives than they are in canon! We'll meet a familiar pilot next chapter...
> 
> Some will show up here and others in Of Courage. 
> 
> Enjoy~

* * *

He woke to a cold nose pressed against his cheek. 

Vincent, before he could blink, was on his feet in a shift of the cloak and whirling fabric. 

A burgundy firewolf was sitting where he'd taken a rest after the exhausting journey, the flaming tail creating glass out of the sand under it. 

"Who are you?" The voice startled Vincent enough that he hitched in a breath of surprise. "What are you?" 

"Nanaki! That's no way to talk to a guest," A blue firewolf, considerably larger and with a feminine voice, chided. "My apologies. We don't get many visitors and they tend to look at us as animals." 

"I have been away for some time and I sought Cosmo Canyon at the crossing because it was the shortest distance. You may call me Sharpshooter." Vincent gave a half-bow out of respect. "I apologize for my reaction." 

Kaa-san had mentioned firewolves capable of great wisdom. Perhaps they could help him. 

"I'm Kira. This impertinent pup is my son, Nanaki." She introduced with a soft huff. "May I invite you to the Starlet Pub? I wish to talk but your stomach is making noises I cannot ignore." 

Chaos had mentioned that they needed to eat both before and after. 

"I... accept your offer, Elder Kira." He smiled behind the collar of the cloak as Nanaki clambered up a hidden set of stairs carved into the canyon wall.

* * *

Vincent thanked Bahamut for Galian's prowess in fighting against monsters much larger than him as he ate nearly double his weight in food and paid the bartender an amount of Gil that he would've flinched at more than a month ago. 

They retreated to a deep cave that was warm and full of pillows, Vincent gingerly sitting on one near the edge and dumping the dried sand out of his boots a few feet before the entrance. 

He peeled off his damp socks and pulled a cloth from his inventory to dry his feet. 

"The force you carry with you, the one my pup detected, do you know what it is?" Kira asked as she laid near him and Nanaki curled up against her side, both sets of bright yellow eyes following his careful movements. 

"Chaos. We've... spoken briefly. He says that he's an ancient force, trapped within me by something he cannot name but I can feel." Vincent quietly allowed. "I've had... something else on my mind." 

"The force isn't your primary concern?" Kira sounded surprised. 

"No. We've come to a truce of sorts," he admitted frankly as he cast a low level cross-cast of Fira and Blizzard on his socks in order to clean and dry them off. Vincent repeated the maneuver for his boots and slid both back on. "My goals and his, for the moment, align." 

"A truce with a being of the Planet. You are remarkable, Sharpshooter." Kira mumured as she licked at Nanaki's mane. 

"I'm only trying to live with my demons." He replied as he stretched, the phantom sensation of stretching wings throwing him for a moment. "Thank you for the meal and your company but I must continue. I'll be back after the more pressing matter has been solved."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment, complain, ect.


	7. Captain Cid Highwind

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for any confusion in the previous chapter. Hopefully I fixed it... 
> 
> Anyway, here's my favorite chapter to date of Expedition! 
> 
> Enjoy~

* * *

He hunted in the canyon itself, amassing quite a collection. 

When he walked into Junon, the city was bustling. 

Even with his enhanced senses he barely avoided colliding with anyone until his luck ran out just before a mechanic's shop. 

" _Ooof_!" Vincent caught the blond person before their face met wet sand and cobblestone. 

"My sincerest apologies—" 

"Apologies! Ah don't **_care one ah-ota about yer damn_**... Apology?" Angry blue eyes looked up from underneath dusty goggles with a cigarette pack tucked just under the strap. "Ah'm sorry, stranger. It's been a shit day. C'n I buy you a drink to make up for it?" 

Vincent blinked at the sudden turn in tone before realizing that he was much taller than the man, was carrying ominous looking equipment and had a gun strapped to his thigh. 

He wasn't going to mention the fact that _most_ people didn't have glowing red eyes. 

Intimidation had never been his intention but it worked surprisingly well. 

"You may," Vincent stated just loud enough for the man to hear as he released him to stand upright. "The tavern up ahead should do well enough." 

"Sure, sure," The man wove through the crowd and Vincent followed. "So, what'll ya be having?" 

"House wine," he replied as he settled at a table with a view of the entire place. "Red, if they have it?" 

Vincent observed the patrons and most of them were hunters. 

"Ah really am sorry about that. Ah'm usually not so damn cantankerous. Name's Cid Highwind," The man returned with a tankard of mead and a glass of wine.

"Perhaps the fault was my own. I haven't been to Junon in years. It's changed since I've been gone." Vincent accepted and didn't cast a Sense or a Libra because the man didn't smell like trouble. "... Vincent Valentine." 

Something told him he could trust the man sitting across from him. 

Highwind grinned, an unlit cigarette dangling from his lips. "Ya look like a 'Vincent'. So, what's with th' intimidatin' get-up?" 

"I'm a monster hunter. I spent a great deal of time on the Western continent." 

"Ever heard o' Rocket Town?" Highwind's expression soured briefly before brightening again. 

"... I admit to not knowing where that might be." He allowed as he drank the house wine. 

"It's on th' other side of th' Nibel Range, so Ah understand if ya haven't heard of it. Damn tourist attraction now but it used to house ShinRa's Space Program... What's yer stance on ShinRa?" Highwind frowned as he considered that he was talking to someone possibly ShinRa affiliated. 

He had no idea Vincent had been one of ShinRa's best Turks. 

"My... stance is unkind but not impractical, when it comes to the tyrannical overwatch of an electrical company that has armies at it's command. They house, feed and employ a great many people which does not exempt nor excuse their many sins." Vincent answered after a long pause to swallow more wine. 

"Ah c'n practically hear ya sayin' mah last name when we talk. 'Sjust Cid." Cid chided as he tapped the butt of the unlit cigarette against the table. "So what brings ya here? Th' Sister Ray?" 

"An old paramor of mine had a child. We... parted on uneasy terms and I wish to know what has become of her son. I don't suppose the shop you came from has transportation?" Vincent offered. 

"Ya know, yer lucky it was me ya bumped into. I got a plane. How far ya need ta go?" Cid brightened at that. 

"Midgar but I'd settle for a drop-off at Kalm for a chance to hunt for some Fangs." He answered promptly. "I'll pay for fuel." 

"Hunters don't normally have that kinda money," Cid squinted suspiciously at him. 

"They do when they're strong enough to take down Grand Horns and Nibel Dragons, Captain Highwind." Helga butted in as she straddled a chair backwards. "Sharpshooter's fond of downplaying his strength but he's got one hell of a kick." 

"Helga..." He growled in warning but she kept going. 

"Kicked me out of the way and shot a Grand Horn point blank. Damn thing dropped at his boots," Helga demonstrated with her hands and then leaned in. "He also checked to make sure everyone in the party was safe and people faked injuries just to get a whiff of him. I ended up fending off multiple inquires as to whether or not Red Cloak had a special someone or if he wanted a slice of their Banoran apple pie, if you know what I mean..." 

She wriggled her eyebrows in a suggestive manner. 

Vincent covered his face with his gauntlet and said quietly, "Helga, I will tell Captain Highwind about the Harpy incident." 

Helga choked a little on her mead and hissed, "How the hell do you know about that?" 

"Because I trade hides for information and rumors and I don't ask for much." He countered as he gave her a sharp smile behind the collar of his cloak. 

Cid cackled and turned to Vincent. "I'll give ya half-price if ya spill the beans on th' Harpy incident." 

"Sharpshooter, no!" 

"She was dangling, completely helpless, from a Harpy's claws, as the story goes..." He began narrating as Helga shook her bandaged fist and Cid leaned in to listen.

* * *

Cid pressed a slip of paper into his hand and Vincent examined it before exiting the Tiny Bronco. 

"'S my PHS number for when ya get yer hands on one. Don't be a stranger, Vince." Cid cheerfully informed him. 

Vincent had no idea what a PHS was but he figured he'd find out soon enough.

* * *

A PHS turned out to be a phone but not like any Vincent had known or grown up with in his childhood. 

He hunted around Kalm to refurbish his significantly lowered wallet and then strode into the PHS shop. The salesperson jumped at the sound of the bell and nearly fumbled the PHS in his hand onto the floor before Vincent caught it. 

"Is this the new model?" He questioned as he gently set it back on the counter. 

"Y-yup. Latest and greatest, just delivered from Midgar!" The person recovered quickly and smiled at him. 

He smelled a partial truth and rose a brow until it touched his headband. Vincent frowned and looked at the remaining PHS on display. "You're a liar, Jerry." 

"What?" 

"That is your personal PHS on the counter, is it not?" He asked coolly. 

"How-Yeah, it's mine." Jerry deflated under his long stare. "They let me use it so I can advertise." 

"I would like the most current model that is not your personal property, please." Vincent requested politely. 

"Boss, there's a scary dude out there. Can you serve him?" Jerry whined to someone else in the back. 

"He's a customer. I don't care how-" Likely the manager poked his head out and then back in. "He's a hunter, you nincompoop. Just get him the PHS, charge him the regular price and don't skip the warranty read off." 

"Ohhhh. Sorry, they come through town but I've never seen one up close. I'll do better, boss." Jerry rustled in the back and came back with a black cardboard box with a sleek cover over it. "Warranty is supposed to last three years, sir. Do you know how to charge it?" 

"Run me through it," Vincent suggested. 

Jerry made a quick run-down and had him repeat it back. 

He paid for the PHS, rented a room and charged his PHS before inputting Cid's number and sending his first text.

_Vincent: This is Vincent._

**Cid: That was pretty quick.**

**Cid: Should I give this number to Helga?**

_Vincent: NO_

_Vincent: She'll only use it to call me_

_Vincent: in the middle of a monster fight_

There was a pause before Cid replied. 

**Cid: That's morbid but correct**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment, complain, ect.


	8. Righteous Fury

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vincent's finally in Midgar! 
> 
> Enjoy~

* * *

Vincent looked up and up and _up_ as his neck popped from the strain of looking up that far. 

Midgar was **much** uglier than it had been nearly a decade ago. 

Helga and a few other hunters told him to sell his lesser parts in Sector Six or Eight and to save the dragon hide for above the Plate. 

He ducked into Sector Eight first, tucking himself into the eave a flower shop to listen carefully for hunter gossip. 

"So, we're in the middle of hunting this ugly-ass Grand Horn, right, when there's suddenly a guy in red in front of all of us, kicks Helga to safety and shoots the damn thing point blank and, I swear to Typhoon, _stares the damn thing to death_. He smelled like gun oil and-" 

"Heaven, minus the stench of Grand Horn in your nose." Vincent finished for Alric, his tone almost bland if not for the teasing lilt. 

"Sharpshooter!" Alric Fair whirled around and Vincent accepted the one-armed hug with a long sigh. "See, I **told** you he's too pretty to be a hunter." 

"I'm here on business," He told Alric. "I got a PHS." 

"Finally." Alric let go to fish his PHS out of his cargo pockets. "Can I have your number?"

Vincent debated with Chaos for a few moments before handing over his PHS. "Just your number, Alric, and no snooping." 

"Of course. Unlike Helga or Gareth, I respect a hunter's privacy." Alric huffed. "You were okay with that hug?" 

"Yes," Vincent offered a faint smile at the man that had practically adopted him into the Fair Clan. "How is Zachary?" 

"Goes by Zack now but he's still as feisty as ever. Getting cornered by Touch-Mes hasn't scared him from the jungle yet." Alric murmured fondly, tapping a button on his PHS to show Zack holding a wooden sword and a Maiden's Kiss with a cheeky grin that was similar to Alric's after a satisfying hunt. "Sorry. I know not everyone likes kids." 

"Zack is... cute and I cannot begrudge a parent for loving their child." Vincent replied carefully as Chaos crooned at the sight of the sweet child they'd rescued from monsters. "You take very good care of your son." 

"Thanks, Sharpshooter. So, you looking to part with all that Nibel dragon hide yet?" Alric smiled before getting down to hunter business.

* * *

He scouted ShinRa from a distance and watched as SOLDIERs and troops trained on the compound. 

Vincent marked the places he could reach with his new strength and where he might have to use the cloak trick. 

The loosely guarded stairs made him cringe at the security protocols now in place. 

Vincent perched on the precariously small ledge above the stairs and listened to the guards on duty. 

"Did you see that child SOLDIER? I thought _I_ was young, trying to get into the Program at fifteen a few years back. That kid can't be older than twelve, max. He looks like my little brother." The first guard said as he scuffed a loose rock against the pavement with his toe. "It's beyond fucked up to keep a kid in the military." 

"Didn't he just get adopted too?" The second piped up, clearly interested. 

"Yeah. Poor kid didn't even have a last name until three months ago. Sephiroth is a bad enough name to saddle a kid with but not giving him a last name's just plain mean." The first guard sighed. "Don't tell the Sarge but I asked Head Chef if he was okay and she gave me a thumbs up before breakfast." 

"Oh good. She's a great Mum. Kid is lucky to have someone like that watching his back now."

* * *

Vincent slipped through the door during the guard change and found the silver-haired child. 

He looked so much like Lucrecia at first glance that Vincent's heart ached. 

**_That must be her cub if you wake me from a sound sleep with the force of your emotions._** Chaos grumbled but seemed to look at Sephiroth through Vincent's eyes. **_He got a great deal of his features from her but some aren't matching up._**

 _Something from Hojo, perhaps._ He sneered at the thought of Hojo sleeping with Lucrecia before pushing the thought away in disgust. _Well, I've seen him._

 ** _I want to meet him; see if he's more than his parentage._** Chaos offered quietly. **_Then we can go see if Hojo appreciates a bullet when he's on the wrong side of the gun barrel._**

_No claws? _Color Vincent surprised at the vehemence with which Chaos regarded Hojo.__

____

____

**_No. I want to watch his LifeStream ebb and die._** Chaos purred. **_Then we can figure out what to do from there._**

 _Wait. What's he-I'm struck with the sudden urge to set Hojo on fire instead._

Hojo had done something to Lucrecia's child, something that made him enhanced enough to jump up to the rafters. 

Absolute fury burned in Vincent, more than it ever had in his lifetime.

A child.

Hojo had experimented on a defenseless, helpless **_child_**.

He gritted his teeth and suppressed the snarl just barely in time to see Sephiroth drop down to laugh at a Turk and his protégée. 

Vincent followed the child and slipped in just as the door closed on the key carded room.

A frying pan, cast iron by the look of it, was warped beyond repair by a sizable dent on the bottom.

Sephiroth reached out as if to touch the display case and his small hand curled into a fist. Instead, he pulled a PHS from the pocket of his pants and took a photo, nodding to himself as he hummed what sounded like a fragment of a Nibel lullaby.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment, complain, ect.


	9. Pride Dynamic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are revealed and Vincent is still in denial but he's coming around to the idea of possibly being a Dad. 
> 
> Enjoy~ 
> 
> As it might get a little confusing, here's a chart of who is who when speaking! 
> 
> _Italics denote emphasis, Vincent's mental speaking or Ifalna using the Planet to talk_
> 
> **_Chaos mental speaking_**
> 
> _ Hellmasker mental speaking _

* * *

He left the ShinRa compound with no way to release the wrath that had built on the thought of Hojo hurting a child. 

The man's _own_ child. 

Hojo was far worse than Vincent could ever claim, a monster that he despised. 

Lucrecia... Where was she? How could she allow such a thing to happen to her flesh-and-blood?! 

_Vincent, make your way to Sector Five, please. You can take your anger out on a few pews in the old church._ The soothing voice washed over him and he followed the tug he felt in his chest until he reached the door of a church. 

The pews were breaking anyway and Vincent's fist completely shattered the first of them and then the second. 

Vincent roared in his anger, too far past words to express himself in a constructive manner. 

He shattered three more before he collapsed to his knees and keened softly in the corner. 

Sephiroth had suffered in the years he'd spent sleeping. 

"You can't change the past, Vincent." The voice? It was a real person? "Yes, I'm real." A woman steadied herself with a cane, the rich fall of her hair only making him more sober. Vincent stood up and helped her to one of the unbroken pews. "My name is Ifalna Faramis. I'm the one who woke you up. I wanted to see if someone I love had any more relatives and I found you!" 

"Found me?" Vincent was confused and hurting but Ms. Faramis seemed to want to put his fears to rest.

Ifalna clasped his gauntlet in both of her hands and said seriously, "You'll find out soon enough but I want you to know that none of Sephiroth's suffering is your fault." 

"If I'd woken sooner-" 

"You would have died." came her blunt assessment. "It took time for your body to accept Chaos." 

"How do you know...?" How _did_ she know all of his questions and how he was feeling and how, in Bahamut's name, did she know about the demons that resided under his skin? 

**_She's a being of the Planet; she speaks to it in ways I cannot._** Chaos crooned the last sentence softly and sweetly. **_Hello, pretty Cetra._**

Vincent hadn't known him capable of such emotions. 

"Cetra?" 

"I'll explain eventually. For now, I need you to bring me back home and wait at ShinRa until it gets dark." Ms. Faramis patted his gauntlet with a gentle smile before letting go. 

"What then?" 

She chuckled and murmured as he lifted her in a bridal carry, "You'll know what to do. Catch Sephiroth's attention but try not to get caught by anyone else."

* * *

Security had tightened in his absence, each door now with a SOLDIER guarding it. 

"Someone snuck past the troopers and now I get stuck with guard duty. Go figure..." the SOLDIER grumbled. "Threat Level Beta, my ass. Nothing was blown up, nothing taken and nothing left for us to track whoever it was. This is _stupid_." 

Vincent whisped up to the precarious perch he'd been on and sat down, his sabatons dangling from a great height as he pulled out his PHS. He needed advice and Alric, as a parent, would definitely have more insight that he did currently. 

_Vincent: If a child is the offspring of someone_

_Vincent: you once knew and they're being_

_Vincent: mistreated, what would you do?_

Alric wrote back immediately. 

**Alric: Depends on how close you were to**

**Alric: them but is the kid in danger?**

_Vincent: Ex-lover_

_Vincent: She had a son_

_Vincent: She's not here to help him_

_Vincent: He looked okay but—_

**Alric: You never know unless you ask**

_Vincent: The person he's with is bad_

_Vincent: Abusive in multiple ways_

_Vincent: I know from experience_

Alric stopped responding for a moment and Vincent didn't blame him at all. 

**Alric: Take the kid**

**Alric: Bring him to Gongaga**

**Alric: Zack would love a new friend**

**Alric: Fran would be good to him**

**Alric: My home is yours, Sharpshooter**

_Vincent: Thank you_

_Vincent: I'll keep your offer in mind_

**Alric: Ur welcome**

* * *

Vincent watched as the threat level slowly downgraded throughout the day and went back to troopers as he sat perched like a Griffon on the ledge. 

Patience now, when Sephiroth was so close, should've been _maddening_. 

He kept an eye out but sank mostly into meditation and called out, _I know there are more. May I meet them?_

**_If you are bored enough to inquire after them... I would recommend against it._** Chaos sighed. **_As I told you, none of the rest are civil nor do they want to be._**

_If I am to share **my body** with them, I want to know what I can do to appease them or at least have a truce._ Vincent countered sharply. _If I can carry you, what length of time will the enhancements grant me? Longer than I want, certainly, and I don't intend to live a long life fighting what is inside of me when I can make inroads during a somewhat peaceful time._

Chaos huffed at that, the golden gaze thoughtful as the ancient being mulled it over. **_I suppose you're right. Forewarned is forearmed, even for the Limit Breaks you now carry. You've met Galian. The others are Death Gigas and Hellmasker. Which do you wish to meet first?_**

He decided on, _... Hellmasker._

**_Good choice. Gigas is best left for a time of killing; he is merciless and you need to be balanced when you face Sephiroth, not tormented._** Chaos slipped away to reveal a winged beast with glowing orange eyes. 

_Strong enough to argue with Leader Chaos and win._ Hellmasker questioned. _You are Host?_

_Leader Chaos?_ Vincent asked as Hellmasker looked at him. _Yes, I'm the Host._

_Dynamic, Behemoth pride. Male coalition leaders you and Chaos. Galian part of crèche, Gigas patrol... Hellmasker also part of crèche. Crèche hunt well, hunt good. Gigas not leader but not hunter either._ Hellmasker explained as Vincent saw large cat paws step fully out of the mist. _Host Leader and Leader Chaos know cubs. Little black cub and little silver cub. Silver cub make you angry but not at cub. Why?_

_A rival Leader stole him away from crèche Lucrecia. Didn't kill him but hurt him enough that I want to kill that Leader._ Vincent explained. 

Hellmasker snarled at that. _Did rival Leader father cub?_

_Yes._

_Hurt own cub? Wrong. Rival cub, is fine, but own cub... Gigas will kill for you. I ask._ Hellmasker's enormous claws sank into the silvery floor of the place and tore long gashes in it, only for the floor to repair in seconds. 

_No, Chaos and I will take care of rival Leader for you._ Vincent argued persuasively. _May I ask what you want?_

_ Cubs. A crèche is not a crèche without them. You want rival Leader's cub? _

_I... Crèche Lucrecia was mine, for a time. I feel responsible for her cub._ Vincent tried to explain. 

_Mated crèche Lucrecia, yes? Take her place if crèche gone. I understand. You good Leader._ Hellmasker hummed and left again, leaving Vincent with an aching heart but no longer wanting to speak with those inside of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment, complain, ect. 
> 
> I have a Tumblr if you wanna chat (bamfcoyotetango)!


	10. Do You Know Who You Are

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so serious question: do you all want to see the adventures of Dad!Vincent continued here? 
> 
> I'd be covering the skipped months in Of Courage and the bits Sephiroth wasn't awake for/isn't aware of, like the reaction of his parents after the Midgar Zolom incident. I'll try not to repeat scenes I've covered but this was laid out a while ago. 
> 
> Enjoy~

* * *

Sephiroth returned with a blonde woman and her child, a hand signal set flashing between them but one that Vincent didn't understand. 

Vincent dropped down from his high perch and made sure that only Sephiroth could see him. Lucrecia's child launched after him, the determined expression almost a mirror of Lucrecia's when she'd dug her heels in. 

He fled to get Sephiroth alone, glancing back occassionally to see if the silver-haired child followed. 

Vincent landed on the ledge he'd spent most of his day on and watched as Sephiroth found balance in a cat-like manner. 

"Why are you following me?" Sephiroth growled, backlit by ShinRa's ostentatious flood lights. 

"... Are you Sephiroth?" He asked 

"It's Lt. Sephiroth Strife," Lucrecia's child replied cautiously, "but yes, that's my name. Why do you want to know?"

"It was a name I learned of years ago, the name of an infant boy who I was unable to see. Nearly a decade I slept but someone, something, woke me and asked if I knew what had become of the child bearing that name." Vincent answered as he looked Sephiroth over and then zeroed in on the glowing green gaze with a slit pupil. "I see that Hojo got a hold of-"

"He's dead." Sephiroth blurted. "Offical word is that he slipped and fell in ShinRa's kitchen facilities but I know how he really died." 

"Who would dare ...?" He questioned incredulously, unable to finish the thought that followed; who was brave enough to take Hojo on and win? 

"My adopted Mom. He reached for my little brother to 'disappear' him and found that his brains were no match for her best cast iron pan." came the dry response. "It's stupid to take a hatchling from a Nibel dragon, y'know." 

Vincent closed his eyes against the roar of approval Hellmasker made. 

_ Crèche protected cub! ... Want to meet her, please? _

**_I admire this woman already._** Chaos admitted a little sheepishly. 

Galian howled his approval and pervaded the mist with smugness. 

He pulled out of the internal party to reply simply: "I see." 

"You know my name. You know that Hojo's moldering away," Sephiroth stated, nearly matching Lucrecia with the nervous hair flick over his shoulder and the way he tilted his head only furthered the picture. "so I've got two questions. What's your name and would you like to come in for dinner?" 

"My name is Vincent, Vincent Valentine." He breathed out. "... I would like to meet your Mother." 

When Sephiroth smiled, Vincent realized that another Crescent had stolen his heart without even knowing.

* * *

He slipped into the door after Sephiroth and whisped up the stairs, his bootips barely touching the railings before he launched himself higher and higher until he reached the floor that was saturated in Sephiroth's scent. 

The enormous block that announced it was Floor 51 had a dent in the lower left corner as Vincent watched Sephiroth exit the glass elevator. 

They strode down the hall together with both of their bootsteps barely making any sound at all. Vincent stole glances while they walked, more and more of Lucrecia's habits, body language and mannerisms-whether conscious or unconscious-began to return to Vincent's mind. 

He reached for the door but pulled back when Sephiroth reached for it as well. 

"Let me explain to my Mom really quick. Watch your legs, Cloud loves new people." Sephiroth warned as he cracked open the door. «Mom? It's a guest of dragon dung coming by for a visit.» 

Nibel? 

A woman laughed and chided, «Seph!»

«Sorry.» The word was half apology, half banter.

Vincent was beginning to doubt that Hojo had contributed much more than a Y chromosome. 

Though the Nibel was rusty on his tongue, it still felt good to speak, «Dragon dung... Is that what you call him?» 

The woman's breath hitched, like it was caught between a sob and a laugh. «Are you still going by Sharpshooter or do I get to learn your real name?» 

She opened the door all the way, familiar blue eyes sweeping over him with disbelief. 

«Anika?!»

* * *

She reached up for a hug and Vincent bent down, awash in her new scent of **_snow-steel-cinnamon-home_**. 

"Umm, Mom?" Sephiroth questioned. "What's going on?" 

Anika jerked in his hug but smiled over his shoulder at Sephiroth. "I'll tell you inside." 

They shuffled inside where Vincent toed off his boots, Sephiroth absently copying him as they moved to the kitchen table. Soft, light breathing came from further in the apartment but upon hearing it, Sephiroth relaxed. 

Anika bustled and busied herself with the kettle as Vincent and Sephiroth descended into an awkward silence that was made up of stealing glances at one another. Vincent looked at the rest of the homey environment, only to be drawn back to the silver-haired child who he'd now found. 

"Seph, honey, can you get down three mugs please?" She asked as she gave Sephiroth's shoulder a gentle squeeze. 

"Yes, Mom." Sephiroth padded into the kitchen and used a step stool to open a cabinet and get mugs. 

"My real name is Vincent Valentine. I'm sorry for your loss, Anika. I know Fenris' passing wasn't easy." He offered his condolences but kept it short. 

"Well, at least you're here now. Fenris would've loved to have seen you again." Anika gave a faint smile at the mention of her husband. 

Vincent watched as Sephiroth maneuvered carefully, padding back to the table with the three mugs to see that Anika had set out the accompaniment. "Why did you call him Sharpshooter?" 

"Once upon a time, I was a Turk; the best of the best and partnered with Throwing Stars. You'd know him better as Veld." Vincent sighed as he accepted the tea; chamomile and his favorite. Even after all these years, Anika had remembered. "I was... assigned to guard Professors Faramis and Hojo on a secretive mission without my partner. It was the first and likely last mission with those parameters." 

" _... Oh merciful Bahamut_." Sephiroth uttered as he stared at the tea in front of him, eyes wide and full of nothing short of an epiphany. 

"Sephiroth, are you alright?" Anika almost moved, her hands planting on the table to get up quickly in case it was needed. 

He held up a hand and looked Vincent directly in the face, his expression serious. "Was your hair shorter during that assignment? Brushing just past your jawline with no headband." 

"... Yes." Vincent had left for the assignment and had told only Veld. Nearly no one would know how he'd looked. "How do you know that?" 

"Because, I cut my hair to my jawline once," Sephiroth's heart was pounding, the held up hand trembling before it was dropped. "Hojo's exact words to me were _'You look like that infuriating bodyguard,'_ right before he refused to see me for the next three months with the explict order to grow it out." 

"It can't... Why would she..." He stood abruptly and paced, his gauntlet curling into a fist as he reigned himself in. Sephiroth didn't need to be frightened and Vincent wanted nothing more than to confirm. "Do you have a mark that isn't a scar but you can't explain how it got there? A birthmark, right at the curve of your left hip." 

Sephiroth lifted his shirt to show the stark, wing-like mark that had resided on the left side of every Valentine born since before living memory.

Vincent untucked his shirt and pulled up the left side to reveal a much larger, wing-like mark in the same rich burgundy as Sephiroth's own. 

"What is it?" Sephiroth—his son!—asked. 

"The Valentine Wing, bestowed upon our line by Bahamut himself... Or so the family legend goes." Vincent found himself reciting the same words his Father had given to him when he'd finally asked about his own mark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment, complain, ect.


	11. Lost Parenthood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so happy you wonderful readers wanted to see more of Dad!Vincent~ 
> 
> He's a bit sad here but it gets better and he hasn't missed everything he thinks he has. 
> 
> Enjoy~

* * *

Sephiroth was his _son_. 

Another Valentine, another Crescent. He had the feeling that Lily, Lucrecia's mother, had had no idea; he'd have to check if she was alive. 

Lucrecia... She'd thrown at him that his father was dead and then she'd compounded the wound in his heart by demanding to cease their relationship. 

He wondered how much of it had been her fear of being discovered pregnant by Hojo. 

Sephiroth started laughing, the slightly hysteric look on his face nearly sick with _**relief**_ , of all things. "Hojo always said-hahaha-that he was it. That he was-ahahaha-my Father by blood and that I was above everyone because of-hehehehe-that _fact_!" He doubled over and laughed some more until Anika moved and lifted him up. "Today's just... Full of rewriting my history, isn't it?" 

"Shhh, Seph. You've had a very trying day. We'll get a blood test done but it looks like you're related. Vincent can talk to Director Veld about it in the morning. I think we all need some rest." Anika soothed as Sephiroth went slack in her grip. "Brush your teeth and go to sleep." 

"Yes Mom." He agreed as he robotically completed what looked like a nightly habit before going into the other room in the apartment. 

"... Anika... What month was he born?" Vincent asked, knowing that in his search that each new piece of information was going to burn old scars and make new ones on his heart. 

"September. He was born five years and three days before my Storm Cloud. There's only a month between them at that." She sighed as she sat back down and cradled her tea. 

"September 16th, 1981... Right?" He questioned. 

"That's what the birth certificate says. Father was listed as a Barnaby Hojo but we both know that's a Leviathan-damned _lie_." Anika hissed before taking a long drink of her tea. "Mother was listed as Lucrecia Crescent." 

"She was pregnant when she insisted that we separate. I was shot... April that same year. There was no way she consented to marrying him unless she was beginning to show. You know how Nibelheim is..." Vincent trailed off, his heart aching as he pieced it together. 

"Backwards, shitty mountain town, yeah. Only good folks there were my Fenris, Nessa Lockhart and Master Zangan," she agreed. 

The mention of Nibelheim brought up the notes he'd found. 

The... _Oh sweet Bahamut_ , the four-year-old had been **_Sephiroth_**. 

Vincent fled to the bathroom and vomited at the clinical mention of his son in agony. He wiped his mouth and rinsed it out, a glance in the mirror telling him that he didn't look well. 

"Vincent?" 

"That-that _sick fuck detailed torturing my son_. He-Sephiroth said you killed him." Vincent hugged Anika tight enough that she squeaked but released her shortly afterwards. "I'm sorry." 

"Don't apologize for that bastard; he wanted my Cloud and thought he would take him from under my watch. I **beat his brains out** with my best cast iron frying pan." Anika snarled lowly, her hands curling into fists before relaxing. She slowly calmed down and asked softly, "Do you want to keep watch over him tonight? He gets nightmares." 

Cast iron—

Sephiroth taking a picture suddenly made horrible and yet vindictive sense. 

"I would love nothing better."

* * *

He sat on the floor next to the bed, listening to his son and Anika's breathing in near synch. 

Vincent found himself crying, the tears disappearing into the cloak as he grieved for his son and himself. 

Nearly a decade under Hojo's terrible watch and his son was still so sweet and kind. He'd suffered so much and still managed to _smile_ when he had every right and reason to _hate_ the world. 

Vincent had lost opportunities, had lost the ability to see his son grow up. He'd lost the first walk, first word... Everything a parent should know about their child. 

He thanked the Planet that Sephiroth slept in absolute peace that night. 

As he kept watch, Vincent swore to do everything in his now considerable power to protect the only family he had left.

* * *

Vincent whisped to Floor 45 and waited in the darkened Turk bull-pen, his emotions swinging wildly between incandescent rage and being soothed by the fact that it had been a dear and close friend that had killed Hojo before Vincent had awakened. 

The Limit Breaks were in an uproar over the fact that Hojo had hurt Vincent's son. 

He stalked along the cubicles, memorizing the scents of the newest Turks and the tiny, red-haired protégée. 

Eventually, the anger tired him out and he allowed Chaos to keep watch as he slipped into the misty space for some rest as the Limit Breaks, Hellmasker and Galian, curled around him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment, complain, ect.


	12. Turk Immersion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vincent is back in the world of Turks and spots a tiny Reno! 
> 
> Enjoy~

* * *

Chaos tapped him awake, the golden gaze surprisingly sympathetic to Vincent's helpless anger. 

**_If it helps, Vincent, you are here now. You can protect him for as long as he lives and even his children, should there be any. Hone your skills and keep watch over your son. The Turks will be here shortly. I can hear them already._ **

"One pot of coffee for the Boss's Boss, comin' right up," The little boy meticulously fixed up the coffee and turned on the dispensers for all of the coffee machines. "Beats bein' out in th' slums, yo. Ain't gotta be a nice job, just one that's outta th' filth like Mama asked." 

Vincent amended his questions for Veld to three instead of two. 

Veld, with grey beginning to streak his beard, strolled into the office, patted the little one on the head and accepted the first cup of coffee. "Mmm. This is much better than the last three cups, Reno. What did you change?" 

Reno grinned, the red tiger stripes tilting up as he reported in an almost professional manner. "The water, yo. I got it from Ma Strife after she asked me what it was for." 

"Good. See that you keep up your task. You may shadow Martial Arts today and perhaps learn some more self defense." Veld ordered. 

The blinding smile was followed by a question, "Th' lady or th' tramp?" 

"The lady. Run along, Reno, I've got business to attend." 

Veld drank his first cup, watching as the Turks filtered into the office and paused as they investigated their spaces. 

"Someone was here, Veld, shifting through papers but placing them back in the exact same order." The Wutainese Turk murmured as he also retrieved a cup of coffee. "I almost didn't notice, except they poked at Reno's things too." 

"You've moved up in the world, Throwing Stars; I wonder who you had to kill to get there." Vincent silkily commented as he levered himself away from the shadows of the bull-pen. "Where is Hojo's body?"

The mug almost dropped from Veld's fingers before the man's grip recovered. "Sharpshooter." 

"I don't like repeating myself." He growled lowly, straightening to his full height to look at Veld with burning red eyes. 

"He's buried." The other Turk attempted directed Vincent's attention to him. 

"I know that. Is there enough left that I can incinerate it?" He questioned as he flexed his gauntleted hand. 

"... Yes, there is." Veld finally answered. 

"Why do you have a slums child running underfoot making your coffee?" He relaxed his body language and listened with faint amusement as half the room decocked thier guns from where they were in their hands. 

"He asked if there was anything he could do that wasn't to do with anything in the slums. Tseng asked if he could make coffee, since our last person to make it well had passed recently in the line of duty. Reno admitted to not knowing what coffee was but that he was willing to learn." Veld sighed. "My office, Sharpshooter, or do you not trust me?" 

"Who is he, Veld?" Tseng was one of the few who hadn't relaxed his grip of his gun. 

Vincent approved. 

"Sharpshooter was my Turk partner. He's been MIA/possible KIA for nearly a decade and the reason for his status is likely six feet under ground." Veld summarized shortly. "I'll be in my office and unless the President or Vice are dying, I don't care."

* * *

Vincent followed Veld into his office and allowed Veld to set his mug in the desk before hugging his old friend close. "I apologize for that comment, Verdot. I'm sure you-" 

Verdot hugged him tightly and then release him to look him over. "What happened to you?" 

"Hojo," he sneered and then admitted quietly, "Lucrecia saved my life but she experimented on me as well. I was in a Bahamut-damned _coma_ for almost a decade and a half." 

"Any other reason why you just told my Turks that you want to set Hojo's corpse on fire?" Verdot asked as he pressed his shoulder to Vincent's. 

"I'll need a blood test to be completely sure but... Sephiroth is my son." Verdot sucked in a sharp breath and then blew it out very slowly. Vincent sighed, "He has the Valentine Wing. I have no idea what I'm supposed to do as a father other than love and protect him." 

"I've got a needle and a friend down in the Science Department. You'll want that result ASAP. Have you filed for joint guardianship with Mrs. Strife?" Verdot asked. 

"I haven't started shit, Ver; I only arrived recently and found out what I'm tell you last night." He snorted as he stole Verdot's cup for a drink of coffee. The Limit Breaks hadn't had the taste yet and this was some... damn good coffee, given that it had been brewed by a child. "I'll need to be re-instated as a Turk. New ID, new security badge, the usual." 

"You really do love your kid. No one has more of a right to fuck off and blow ShinRa to shreds than you do and you're coming back because he's here." Verdot chuckled wryly. 

"The best way to blow it up is from the inside. You know that," Vincent huffed and Verdot rolled his eyes.

* * *

The Vice President asked to see him shortly after Verdot had taken his blood sample to the labs to be checked against Sephiroth's. 

"You're... not what I expected." The blond man in front of him was barely an adult. 

Rufus ShinRa Jr. was tall, broad-shouldered and his expression spoke of training himself to be intimidating in a circle of elites two times his elder. 

"Hn," Vincent answered as he lounged on the wall near the desk. "What did you expect?" 

"Someone Veld's age asking to get back into action, claiming that he was bored of civilian life." came the blunt reply. "You aren't any older than I am-" 

"I was born in the year 1950," he replied with a matter-of-fact tone. "I remember when there wasn't a ShinRa Electric at all and Midgar was just another city in a world full of them. I was there when the Dowager Empress's death was first announced via radio and when everyone's phones still had cords attached to them. You can thank Hojo, the miserable wretch, for my looks." 

ShinRa Jr. immediately looked towards Tseng and the man nodded in agreement. 

"His files were buried deep, Vice-President, but not deep enough to fool us." Tseng replied to an unspoken question. "Hojo was the last to see and seal them, sir." 

"Why are you returning after nearly twenty years of service?" 

"My son... works for ShinRa." He gave a half-truth. ShinRa looked doubtful so Vincent continued, "His mother made me promise to look after him." 

"Ah. Well, I suppose can't fault someone for wanting to fufill a promise. You're re-instated." Rufus ShinRa Jr. dismissed both him and Tseng with a bored swipe of his hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment, complain, ect.


	13. The Levels of Friendship

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, hello, hello new readers and old~ I'm so happy you all love Dad!Vincent so here he is, doing a Dad. 
> 
> Enjoy~

* * *

They still made him retake the marksmanship test. 

He changed into the Turk trainee uniform and braided his hair before tying it back with a band that Reno lent him, the blue eyes wide as Vincent removed his Quicksilver, the other gun he'd found in his inventory and a gun that Chaos had insisted they needed from a cave in the Nibel Range. 

He fired the Quicksilver, his breath nearly nonexistent as he fired the .45 caliber gun with an accuracy that left the range manager gaping at him. 

He fired Cerberus, the slugs finding their way into the same holes made by the Quicksilver, with the triple-barrel gun booming as he obliterated the targets altogether. 

When he reached for the quintet-barreled gun, the harried range manager had—a Turk codenamed Two Guns—had enough. "For Alexander's sake, _please_ don't fire that thing in here. I feel like it'd take down the building. I can see why your name is Sharpshooter." 

"Well, I suppose with a name like Death Penalty, it's not a gun to be fired lightly." Vincent admitted as he tucked his guns back into his inventory. 

"... Death Penalty. Right. Get off of my range." Two Guns ordered grumpily. "Take Reno with you. He's supposed to tag Martial Arts today, the brat." 

Vincent looked at his little red-headed shadow and hummed, "Martial Arts is practicing in the gym on Floor 44. I need to take a shower and wait for results. Don't get caught." 

Reno grinned and gave a sloppy salute, running off with a skip to his step.

* * *

Veld stopped him before he stepped into the Floor 44 locker room. "I have the results." Vincent followed Veld into a spare office space. "A 98.9% match, Vincent. That's more than enough for the guardianship paperwork I just filed for you. You can thank me later when you're clean." 

"... You're a better friend than I ever expected you to be." He chuckled wryly as he allowed Verdot to tuck the papers into his inventory. "Do you think you can start name-changing paperwork or was this the limit to my favors?" 

"You saved my life more times than I can count, Vin. I haven't even begun to repay you yet." Verdot countered, his brown eyes softening briefly as he really looked at Vincent. "You haven't aged a day." 

"You're not old. Neither of us are if you want to be truthful. I'm forty-one, not dead." He snorted as Verdot handed over more coffee in a thermos. 

"You hated coffee before," Verdot leaned on the desk and scraped a gloved hand through his hair, the flash of a prosthetic drawing Vincent's attention. "Ah. You like it?" Verdot pulled off the glove to display part of a Materia bracer sunken into the fake hand. 

"Mm, I think I can make an exception for Reno's coffee," Vincent reached under his trainee jacket and rolled the left sleeve past his bicep before flicking the jacket over his shoulder. "We match." 

"What happened to it?" 

"Hojo. Underneath it's a mess of burn scars and frostbite. I have no idea what the hell he was doing but I don't feel much because most of the nerves are destroyed from my elbow down. Lucrecia probably pieced me back together." Vincent responded. "I don't suppose you know where she is?" 

"Officially? She stopped existing after 1983. Unofficially, she was active on the books for another year before her email went defunct. Haven't seen nor heard anything since." Verdot sighed as he put his glove back on. 

It was more than he expected to hear about his ex-lover. 

Vincent rolled his sleeve back down to the edge of the gauntlet and held the thermos in it. "How much do you want to bet that your Turks are gossiping right now? We have history, clearly, and I've been in two separate rooms with you in the past three hours alone." 

"I don't expect to win that bet. I'll share the pot if you hold my prosthetic in your gauntlet." His best friend teased. 

"For shame," Vincent chided before a small smile crept onto his lips. "I'll fan the flames later." 

"Fair enough."

* * *

He knocked on the door Sephiroth had the previous night and it was opened slightly by a smaller version of Fenris with Anika's coloring, the door chain in place. 

«Mr. Val-en-tine, right?» The smallest Strife chirruped. «Where'd you meet Mama?»

Vincent thought back and answered, «At the Inn bar in Nibelheim. She asked if my Quicksilver was worth the name they gave it.»

Soft blue eyes crinkled at the edges as the door chain rattled off off of it's hook. «I'm Cloud!»

He kicked off his boots and closed the door with his socked foot as he set the thermos full of coffee on the counter. 

«Hello Cloud. Don't hug me; I've got lead on me and it's not good for you.» Vincent sighed as Cloud eyed his legs. «Let me go shower first.»

"Okay!" Cloud wove around the furniture to return to what looked like paper and pencils. 

Vincent redressed in his other clothing, washing the trainee uniform and making a mental note to shop for clothing in Wall Market soon. 

He couldn't keep wearing this all the time. 

Cloud looked up from his drawings and yawned, scrubbing at his eyes with a small fist that made Hellmasker croon. 

_Crèche Anika... Would she mind if we watched her cub?_ Hellmasker asked quietly, purring loud enough that Vincent was doing it. 

_I don't think she'd mind at all. She's been watching Sephiroth for me._ He answered as Cloud paused in front of him. 

"... Can I nap with you?" The soft blue gaze tugged on something in Vincent and he nodded as he settled on the couch. "Thank you." 

Vincent curled his arm around Cloud as Anika's son chose his left side. He pulled maintenance on the guns he'd fired, cleaning and oiling his standard-issued Quicksilver and Cerberus slowly and one-handed. 

He tucked them away again, thought about heading back to Turk HQ and grimaced as Hellmasker protested with a quiet purr. _Hellmasker not leave cub defenseless._

Cloud was soft, warm and surprisingly heavy for such a small child. 

Vincent supposed it wouldn't hurt to watch over Cloud, just for a moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment, complain, ect.


	14. Readjustment

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have I mentioned I love Tseng too? He's a rare Muse so to have him talking here was a happy surprise! Vincent is now in full-on Dad!Mode~
> 
> Enjoy~
> 
> Edit 10/17/17: Changed Baba to Chichiue after research

* * *

He woke by degrees, first when the door opened once and then again when Anika's warm scent drifted into the apartment. 

She cooed and he sat up, hiding his yawn behind the collar of his cloak. Vincent jumped a little in surprise to find Cloud still leaning against him and rubbing sleep out of his eyes. 

Cloud leaned back in, a spike of happiness floating from Anika's child as he shuffled and resumed his position on Vincent's right side. 

"Anika, is your son always this cuddly?" Vincent murmured as he woke up fully. 

She laughed at his question, "He's six. You probably smell like Seph since you used the shower. Speaking of, my wayward son should be here by now... Formation ended after I got through dealing with my rotating staff." 

"I wouldn't blame him if he'd need some time to think after the events of last night," He offered as he gently supported Cloud into sitting upright.

"I'll call him. We need to-" Anika reached for her apron pocket, likely looking for her PHS when she was interrupted. 

"Hi Mrs. Strife," A ginger-haired teenager piped up as he opened the door to the other room. "I hope you don't mind but Sephiroth invited us in to help set up his new Griffon feathers. Major Tyris gave him new ones." 

"Gen and I need to meet with our mentors tomorrow so we're turning in early, Mrs. Strife." Another teen, this one black-haired like Zack, flashed a smile and barely glanced at him as he spoke with Anika. "It's nice to see you again." 

"That's sweet of you, boys," She murmured with a soft smile of her own. "You're welcome to drop by to scoop up Seph or hang out here." 

"We'll keep that in mind, Mrs. Strife." 'Gen' turned up his charm and waved to a still-sleepy Cloud. 

The two teens left after scuffing into their boots and taking their weapons from where they leaned against the wall. 

"I made them promise not to say anything." Sephiroth blurted after the door latched with a heavy click. He winced a little as he looked at Anika anxiously. "I didn't... Is that okay?" 

"Seph, honey, they're your friends. Of course it's okay." Anika fussed over her second son, her hands reaching down to detangle a braid in the silver hair. "It's okay to have promises and secrets between the three of you. It's just that yours is family-related." 

"Oh." Sephiroth uttered quietly and hugged Anika, tucking himself under her chin as she wrapped her arms around the slender shoulders. 

Sephiroth chose his left side and almost as if by reflex, he lifted his arm to embrace. Lucrecia used to do the same during late nights watching data being spit out on reams of paper but now... The memory sat lighter than he thought it would with _their son_ in her favorite embrace. "Veld brought me the tests this morning. A ninety-eight percent match of blood." 

"So what does it mean? Am I still under Mom or are you my guardian now?" Slitted green looked up and Vincent looked at his son in a new light. 

"That's what we wanted to talk about, honey," Anika spoke up, "It's up to you but Vincent and I were talking about giving you a joint last name." 

Between his approval to get back in with the Turks and recieving a trainee uniform, they'd texted briefly about paperwork. They had agreed that it would be up to Sephiroth to choose. Vincent's gauntlet flexed as he waited to hear the response, part of him irritated at his nervous tic, part of him more anxious than he let on. 

Sephiroth sighed happily in the back of his throat as he hugged Vincent under his cloak. 

"Strife-Valentine." Vincent's breath caught in his throat and he hitched in a breath as he made a soft noise of unmitigated joy. Sephiroth hugged harder now and Vincent returned the embrace with his own unnatural strength. "I belong to two families now." 

"Perhaps this was what my Father meant when he said that it is the Valentine way to atone." He said as he breathed in the soft scent of _sunshine-flowers-sandalwood_ that made up his son's scent. "I could not protect your Mother from the terrible things she did but you are my greatest responsibility. I will endeavor to bring you joy where once there was sorrow." 

"You already have," came the muffled reply. 

Vincent quietly contemplated using the Turk and ShinRa resources now at his fingertips to find Lily Crescent to be able to tell Sephiroth that he had even more family and to let Lily know she had a grandson.

* * *

Veld gave Vincent his own office, citing that he'd damn well earned it to any Turk stupid enough to question why he'd gotten the one of the rare spare offices. 

"Sir, he's been back for less than two days; I've been waiting for years to get out of this-" The Turk spluttered and then squeaked as Vincent stared him down. 

"You weren't here when I left. I'm guessing they recruited you from... what, Corel? Junon?" He murmured dryly. 

His drawl was slow enough to irk the man into responding, "Kalm, I'm _**from**_ -" 

" _That_ would be why you're not getting the office, Bullwhip," Vincent purred. "Loud, obnoxious and giving away information when we've only met once. Reno makes a better Turk than you do and he's only seven." 

Bullwhip's mouth clicked shut faster than Vincent expected; perhaps Bullwhip would make a good Turk... Eventually. 

"The bull-pen is an equalizer. It's why the cubicles are all on the same level. The reason why I get the office is two-fold; I have seniority and I'm working on a higher security clearance than you. If anyone else has an issue with that, they can either speak to Veld or myself." He spelled it out with a cool, clear tone. "I've worked for ShinRa and been a Turk longer than you've _lived_ , Bullwhip, so take care in how you speak to me." 

Tseng watched the exchange and muttered softly in Wutainese under his breath, «Bull _whip_ finally met another person who wouldn't put up with his bull _shit_.» 

Vincent snorted softly at that, almost breaking into a laugh as Bullwhip slouched back to his desk. He joined Tseng near the coffee machines and murmured in reply, «I take it he's tried that more than once.» 

Tseng twitched in surprise but quietly chuckled. «I didn't think you could hear me.» 

«I hear a lot more than people think I do.» Vincent observed the Turks, most of them trying to sneak glances at him. «Is it just me or are they actively trying to gawk at me?»

«I take it back in your day, it wouldn't be so obvious?» Tseng asked. 

«Hn, less obvious. They'd have walked past us, doing their duty but checking me over with a quick glance for any other weapons aside from the obvious.» he responded as he tilted his leg just so and Tseng rose a brow at the throwing knives strapped to his thigh. «One can never be over-prepared as a Turk.»

«Indeed.» Though he didn't know Tseng all that well, he thought he heard admiration.

* * *

Vincent attempted to find a common point with his son other than blood and the fact that they shared birthmarks. His Father, Grimoire, had never tried to understand Vincent and Kaa-san's interest in weapons so Vincent swore that he wouldn't do the same for his son. 

"Sephiroth," Vincent started and Sephiroth paused in cleaning his odachi. 

"Do I have to call you F-Father?" Sephiroth faltered on the word and Vincent remembered that Hojo had insisted on its use. "I don't... I can't-" 

"You don't have to call me that." He reassured softly as he sat next to Sephiroth. "What about Dad? Ah, Papa?" 

Sephiroth pulled a face at those. "No." 

"What about Chichiue? It's Wutainese for Father but... it's a little old-fashioned." He offered again. His son paused at that, wiping down his blade and sheathing it. Sephiroth leaned softly against him and the soft oval pupils looked up hesitantly as he touched the edge of Vincent's cloak. He lifted his arm and Sephiroth curled up against his side, relaxing entirely. "Is that better?" 

"Chichiue... I like it. It's better than... the other name. You, umm, you don't mind that I'm..." Sephiroth, he'd found, was quieter than most children his age and much quieter than Vincent himself had been. 

"I will never deny you attention or affection, Sephiroth." Vincent's heart ached at the unspoken question. "If you want a hug— whether you're twelve, twenty or thirty-five—I'll give you one. I don't need a reason to love you, I just do." He hauled Sephiroth into his lap, held him close and they sat with Sephiroth's nose buried between the crook of his shoulder and his neck. 

The scent of salt water surprised him as Sephiroth sniffled. Oh. Oh dear. 

Vincent gently rubbed circles into Sephiroth's warm back and, at a loss, prodded Hellmasker awake. _Can you purr?_

_ Silver cub needs it? _

_Yes._

Hellmasker rumbled softly before the purr worked its way through Vincent's vocal cords and chest. _Would groom too but humans have weird sense of grooming._

He nuzzled against Sephiroth's crown, keeping his breathing slow and soothing. Vincent dug around in his inventory for a tissue and came upon an unopened packet that smelled of Anika. He silently presented the package to Sephiroth and got another sniffle for his troubles. 

"... I like Chichiue. It's soft and it's nice. Can we use it though?" The worry made him purr louder. 

"Your grandmother on my side was full Wutainese. I'm half. I should certainly think so," he hummed as Sephiroth blew his nose. 

"Oh. Okay," Sephiroth set the tissue off to the side, neatly folded into a small square. "Do I have to get up?" 

"Not if you don't want to, son." Vincent admitted selfishly after a moment, "I never got to hold you when you were little so I'm making up for it now." 

"Think you can carry me to bed if I fall asleep?" The small-voiced question was one that made him inhale softly as he pressed a kiss to Sephiroth's head. 

"I'll carry you to bed until you get too big to lift. I'm sure I'll have the strength to do it long after you'll want me to stop." He answered honestly. 

Sephiroth fell silent but not to sleep so Vincent just kept purring softly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment, complain, ect.


	15. Hojo's Fate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I may or may not have cackled at what I wrote in this chapter. I also discovered that it takes eight to ten years for a human body to decompose so those flowers will have food for a very long time, y'know what I mean...
> 
> Enjoy~

* * *

Vincent did end up carrying Sephiroth to bed and removing his cloak to cover his son in it. He wrote out a quick note and tucked it so that if Sephiroth awoke, Vincent was only a call away. 

_Sephiroth,_

_I went out to Wall Market for clothes. I'll be back before you wake, hopefully._

_Here is my PHS number._

_Call it if you need me or just want me home._

_Love,_

_Chichiue_

* * *

He tried on and bought clothing and then he wandered towards the old church he'd destroyed a few pews in. 

"Hello?" 

"Hello again, Mr. Valentine." Ifalna Faramis looked up from tending to a crop of brilliant purple and red tulips in the very back corner of the church. 

"... I don't suppose you could tell me where Hojo is buried?" Vincent sighed as he sat beside her, arms wrapping around his knees. 

"He's here." She answered serenely. 

"In the church?" He rose a brow at that; a burial for Hojo. 

"In this bed of flowers," Ifalna corrected with a slow, spreading smile. 

Vincent glanced at the rich, dark earth and then back up to Ifalna's smile. "A fitting end, then, for a man who killed or twisted nearly everything he touched. I wanted to set him on fire but this is much better. I... take it you were under his knife too?" 

"I was," Ifalna's expression soured briefly at that. "How is Sephiroth?" 

"He's... wonderful." He blurted out painfully. "Did you _know_ he was my son? My biological one?"

"It's how I woke you up. I wanted to know if he had any blood family left." Green eyes softened as she looked at him. "There is one other." 

"Lily Crescent." Vincent was relieved. His family was gone aside from cousins removed but at least Sephiroth still had one grandparent left. 

"She's older and you'll have to bring him to her but she's alive," she reassured gently. 

"Where?" 

"The edge of Banora, on the Mideelian continent."

He looked again at the patch of vibrant flowers and the smile that spread across his own face was satisfied. "I want to give Anika some flowers. Do you mind if I take a few of them with me when I go?" 

"Take the purple ones," she hummed softly, going back to the softer yellow and white lillies that gave the church it's scent. "and some yellow." 

Vincent chuckled softly at the meaning of the bouquet she'd told him to take. It was a subtle enough message for anyone looking but a nice-looking combination if it was just going to be displayed. 

"... May I return?" He asked as he dusted off his black pants. 

Ifalna nodded and murmured as Vincent severed the stems with his claws, "Hojo left a terrible impact and an even bigger hole when he left but I'm incredibly grateful to his stupidity; it returned to me a child I thought I lost and gave Sephiroth a family he can trust and love." 

A shudder ran through Vincent just then, as though someone had stepped on the coffin he'd been resting in. "I cannot thank you enough for awakening me." 

"You're more than welcome." She replied as she bent to the task of pulling tiny weeds from her flowers. 

_I guess that means my death did something other than save most of Nibelheim's ungrateful asses._

Vincent cleaned out his ear, shook his head and pretended he hadn't heard the voice of Fenris Strife. 

He already dealt with three internal voices as it was, no need to involve more. 

"You averted one potential. We'll yet see if the others come to pass."

* * *

When he finally settled into bed, his PHS buzzed from its charging spot. Vincent groaned as he remembered that he'd spoken to Alric but had never gotten around to explaining. 

**Alric: Sharpshooter, please return this text soon.**

**Alric: I'm worried about you and that**

**Alric: kid you mentioned under an abusive**

**Alric: figurehead.**

_Vincent: My apologies_

_Vincent: Her son is also my son_

_Vincent: Blood match is over 95%_

_Vincent: He is safe with an old friend_

_Vincent: of mine._

_Vincent: Abuse has been halted_

_Vincent: The figurehead is no longer_

_Vincent: an issue._

**Alric: Did u kill him?**

_Vincent: No_

_Vincent: I wish I had_

_Vincent: He deserved it_

_Vincent: He makes wonderful flower food._

**Alric: Are u saying someone buried him?**

**Alric: In their garden**

_Vincent: Ever heard of Barnaby Hojo?_

**Alric: All around scumbag? Yeah**

_Vincent: My son's figurehead_

**Alric: Oh**

**Alric: call me?**

Vincent hit the Contacts button and tapped Alric's number. 

""Sharpshooter, are you still in Midgar?"" 

"I am." 

""Meet me at Wall Market tommorrow at ten am for breakfast. I get the feeling that we need to talk and I don't trust our PHSs."" Alric disconnected and a text popped up soon after. 

**Alric: I may need to go hunt**

**Alric: for a while**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment, complain, ect.


	16. Living Legacy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the wait folks, I got caught up in RL things! Also, Vincent's disappointed in AVALANCHE 1.0 for the reasons he lists. 
> 
> Enjoy~

* * *

Vincent texted the name of the tiny bakery in Sector Six to Alric, tucked into a small corner and full of decidedly _not_ ShinRa friendly clientele as it was, which made it the perfect spot to meet his hunting companion.

A small man sat next to him and said sweetly, "I know you work for the ShinRa scum." 

He rose a brow, chuckled softly and replied, "An organization is easier to take apart from the inside. You can effect change faster than blowing innocent people up or turning them into _monsters_ , much like the company you so claim to despise. You want to help the Planet so much, why don't you beat ShinRa at their own game and find a better source of energy?" 

"Well, I never-" 

"Scram before I decide you're worth the cost of the bullets I'll inevitably waste on your miserable hide." Vincent murmured as he flicked his cloak just enough to reveal Cerberus. 

The man paled about six shades and Vincent wrinkled his nose at the stench of fear that wafted up. 

"I'd leave, pal. That guy takes down Grand Horns and Zoloms for **fun** and profit." Alric added while he slid into the seat across from Vincent. "He won't think twice about you." 

A squeak came from the man before he bolted for the door.

* * *

They ordered breakfast to go before Alric lead the way out onto the Wastes. They fought in synchronized silence and found a monster-free zone before they unpacked. Vincent flicked up a Shield, a Detect and a Libra before he even bothered speaking. 

"So that must be AVALANCHE," he commented dryly before he nibbled on a flaky pastry. 

Galian liked the taste of them. Somehow, speaking to the wolf-like demon had apparently returned his appetite to slightly higher than normal, though Chaos had assured him he could subsist on very little, should it become a situation. 

"Hardly. He's likely a patsy trying to see if you'll turn on ShinRa. The real AVALANCHE would've hit hard and tried to either convert or kill you. They've been striking hunter lodges lately and it has me worried." Alric snorted after he swallowed a bit of breakfast sandwich. "... Do you work for ShinRa?" 

"I've worked for them for nearly half my life," Vincent replied honestly, "I only returned because I need to protect my son." 

"That's, uh, that's quite the curveball. Anything else I need to know before we talk about your kiddo?" Alric questioned with a serious look. 

"My name is... Vincent Valentine. Sharpshooter was-is-my Turk pseudonym that I earned at the age of twenty-two." He answered promptly. 

"... Oh. That would explain a lot about you then. I hope you don't mind me asking but how old are you?" The violet eyes tracked Vincent's movements as he brushed crumbs from the cloak's front. 

"I'm forty-one." Vincent responded. Alric blinked at the new information, processed it and then squinted at Vincent. "I know, I don't look my age." 

"Genetics?" came the hopeful question. 

"Partially. My Kaa-san was Wutainese." He allowed with a wry smile tugging at his lips. 

Alric's jaw worked as he figured it out. "Unwilling guest of Professor Creepy?" 

".... Unfortunately." 

"I'd say this guy was getting off easy, that he's already dead." Alric finally managed after several tense moments. 

"What if I told you that he's trapped in those flowers he's feeding with his body and that he dies again and again each time a flower plucked from his grave wilts?" Vincent offered as he finished off the chocolate pastry. 

The soft but frightening smile that spread over Alric's face had even Chaos shuddering. 

Alric was kind and gentle, the kind of soul that came along once in a blue moon. His anger, should it appear, was akin to a Summon; dangerous, deep-seated and Planet help the fool stupid enough to release it. "Good."

* * *

They spoke at length, mostly about how to be a father after the heavier subjects had slowly been glossed over. Alric had listened and had expressed genuine sympathy without it ever swaying into pity or fear. 

"We've worked out what he'll call me but... I want to be there. I want to know my son because I refuse to become like my Father." Vincent offered quietly as he sat on the hill next to Alric. "I've missed so much of my son's life, I don't know where to begin." 

"Well, umm, if both of you were unwilling guests, I bet Professor Creepy kept video records on top of paper and digital ones. As his guardian, you can ask for them, if they're there." Alric murmured. "You and your kiddo deserve some R&R after all of that but I doubt you'll get it. The only thing I can say is listen to what he says and if he trusts you with something, do your best not to betray that trust. I'm lucky that Zack's still so little and I'll tell him that he can trust me but kids... They're so much smarter than people genuinely give 'em credit for." 

Vincent nodded in agreement. "Alric..." 

"Yeah?" 

"Thank you." 

Alric blinked and then gave a tiny smile. "I just listened." 

"It is more than most would be willing to do for a near stranger." He added as he unholstered Cerberus to check the gun. 

"I told you, you're practically family. You saved Zack's life and didn't expect anything in return. You're an honorable Fair, invited to any and all family reunions." Alric reminded him with a wink and a teasing nudge. "You, uh, you mentioned the name Strife a couple of times." 

"I know of three, one of whom is deceased. Why do you ask?" Vincent hummed as he reholstered his weapon.

"Fenris... He was a good man. Rumor had it he died near his hometown." Alric sighed. 

"He died defending Nibelheim from a clutch of Nibel Dragons, yes. His widow saved my son and I'm inclined to think all Strifes are heroes, born into the family or not." He murmured wryly. 

"Is she the friend you mentioned?" 

"She is," Vincent declared. "Anika is beloved by many and a surrogate mother to many Cadets and troopers, my own son among them. She's as honorable as her husband was and twice as practical." 

"So, you like her?" Alric teased. 

He shook his head and replied, "No, Alric. Fenris was the only man she loved... I once told Helga... that Lucrecia, Lucrecia was the sun to my Icarus. I've been burnt before and I'm reluctant to be burnt again. I haven't sworn off of relationships entirely but I will be much more cautious... should one develop." 

Hellmasker supplied a visual of a certain blond pilot and Vincent shoved the winged beast into the mist again with more force than necessary. 

"Oh. Yeah, that's a good way to put it." Violet eyes tracked the faint flush that still stained his cheeks. "You have someone in mind?" 

"... No." 

Cid again, this time from Galian, and it lingered on the way the callused fingers flipped the cigarettes he smoked. Vincent growled this time and stood, the wind causing his cloak to snap in it as he strode down the hill. 

**_We communicate with him more frequently than all of your other contacts._** Chaos murmured. **_You can't blame them for fixating._**

 _Cid is my friend and not a potential life-mate. No one can be a life-mate because if they die, a piece of me will die with them. We'll out-live them **all** , one after another after another after **another**! It's best to keep them at a distance._ Vincent snarled internally. 

"Vincent...? Did I hit a bad topic?" Alric reached out a hand in concern before he lowered it to look at Vincent's expression. 

"I... Due to my time under Hojo's knife and Lucrecia's... care... I will most likely out-live everyone I know except the firewolf cub I met in Cosmo Canyon." He admitted hoarsely as he turned away. 

"I don't think I can help much with that," came the solemn response. "All I c'n say is I hope you're blessed as much as you've been cursed and that you make more happy memories than sad ones. I hope you have enough so that when you do have to say goodbye, at least it's bittersweet instead of sad. A man's legacy only lives on in those who remember him. If he's forgotten, so too are his deeds, his choices, his way of being. So, you do that; you be our living legacy, though we've years yet." 

"A legacy, hmm?" Vincent hummed as he dismantled the barriers and loaded his gun. "I think I can live with that."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment, complain, ect.


	17. A Little Bit of Chaos

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You all get a chapter because I'm excited for the eclipse and I've got a question for you all! 
> 
> Should Vincent: 
> 
> A) reveal Chaos to Veld and Tseng? 
> 
> B) tell them it's a side-effect of Hojo and Lucrecia's tinkering? 
> 
> C) Tell Veld but only partially inform Tseng. 
> 
> Enjoy~

* * *

Alric was right; Vincent needed to live in the present and appreciate all that he had now. He had a family that he shared with an old friend, he was making new friends, he was re-establishing himself amongst the Turks and alive while his enemies were dead. 

Vincent started with inquiring about any footage of his son.

Dr. Jakobs looked over the guardianship papers, narrowed her brown eyes at him and then sighed softly, "I'm glad you're here. Anika knows some of what happened to him was bad but she doesn't know the full extent. She wants Sephiroth to tell it in his own time and I appreciate that she's not intruding on his privacy but at the same time..." 

"Someone needs to read and understand all the files. You're tired of being the only one who knows everything. It is a heavy burden, one that you accept on account of my son and for that I thank you. I... have more information for the Projects you are cataloguing." Vincent replied solemnly. "I'm sure you're familiar with Project V." 

"Oh." the Dr. paled again and muttered something rather unkind about Hojo's parents and a Death Claw that had him snorting in amusement. 

"Yes. I'm well aware of Hojo and his many awful projects. However, I was wondering if there are any... videos of my son. Before the heavier expirements were being run." He spelled it out gently. 

"You want to see your child before he was resigned to hurting. I have a few, so few but they're just observation." Dr. Jakobs mentioned. "They'll be in the pile that _doesn't_ reek of stale vomit."

* * *

Vincent found an unused office in Urban Development and locked the door before flicking up more of the same barriers he'd used to talk to Alric. 

The first video was dated 1982 and labeled in Hojo's horrendously awful handwriting; Observation of Parental Tactics. 

He didn't expect to see Fenris Strife cradling a year old Sephiroth and teaching his son Patty-cake with a delighted grin. They almost matched, Fenris's platinum blond barely half a shade lighter that Sephiroth's silver; his hazel eyes crinkled at the corners when he smiled while Sephiroth's green was wide and sweet. 

"Yay! You're so good at this, Sephi! You're the cutest thing this side of the Planet, aren't you?! I hope my _kind_ appreciates that I'm getting in the practice now with you, you delightful ball of sunshine." Fenris crooned in Common, his native Nibel slipping through out of habit. 

Sephiroth shrieked in absolute joy as Fenris scooped him up and the sound shattered what remained of Vincent's stiff upper lip mentality. He muffled his sob with his right hand but continued to watch as his son played so freely. Fenris would've made an amazing father, protective as he'd been of Sephiroth. 

Hojo had appeared on screen twice, once to measure Sephiroth's knee reflexes and once to pluck a strand of soft silver hair before grumbling out of sight. 

Most of the videos had featured his old friend and the way he'd sung Nibel lullabies to Vincent's son explained the heavy hint of the language in Sephiroth's own voice. He'd picked up an accent because of Fenris and as Vincent watched further, was trained out of the accent almost entirely before the videos stopped abruptly only a few months prior to Sephiroth's release from Hojo's grip. 

He wiped away his tears, blew his nose and resolved to share the videos with Anika and Cloud (when he was older).

* * *

Emotionally exhausted, he returned to his office and checked to make sure no paperwork was there. Perhaps out of a years' worth of habit, Vincent pointed his gun at the door when it opened and said quietly, "Unless it's an assignment or your name is Veld, get out." 

"It's me, Sharpshooter," Veld murmured as he closed the door, tapped the frame and the blissful wash of a Silenced room had him relaxing. "What were you doing in Urban Development's unused office?" 

"... Watching my son grow up under the guidance of an old friend." Vincent replied as he lowered his gun and holstered it again. 

"Who?" Verdot didn't press, just settled his hand against Vincent's shoulder and let him know that he was there. 

"Fenris Strife; we met in Nibelhiem while I was guarding... Faramis and the flower food. He and his wife welcomed me into town whole-heartedly. They were the epitome of what passed for Nibel hospitality." Vincent paused and murmured to his oldest friend, "He... He raised Sephiroth until he was four and they dismissed him, according to the notes I read. I think I owe that family everything I have; they'd never take it, of course, but it's the thought that counts." 

Verdot tapped at his shoulder and Vincent stood, a little surprised when Verdot opened his arms for a hug. He accepted and melted into the embrace, purring softly as Verdot stroked his hair. Vincent practically draped himself over Verdot as Verdot switched to rubbing small circles against his back. 

When someone knocked and then entered, Vincent nor Verdot moved. Vincent only hummed at the sight of Tseng, savoring the scent of surprise and shock before his scent faded back to neutral. 

"The Vice would like to see you both." 

"An assignment, hmm?" Vincent mused as he hooked his chin over Verdot's shoulder. 

«He didn't say what it was,» Tseng disclosed softly in Wutainese. «He doesn't like to be kept waiting either.»

Vincent snorted and replied, «That would be the ShinRa blood talking. His father was much the same.» 

He detangled from Verdot and straightened his cloak before he glided out of his office, his lips twitching as he listened to the Turks quietly bicker amongst themselves.

""Holy shit, I don't think I've ever seen Veld _hug_ someone.""

""Dude, scary cape doesn't look like he wants a hug let alone needing one.""

""They're still people and sometimes people need comfort. An old partner would be the ideal place to go, yes?""

""Suck the fun out of it, will ya, Katana?"" 

""I will 'suck the fun out of it' because it's true."" 

Vincent reranked Katana to the short-list of Turks he might trust in the future much higher than he'd been originally. 

""Listen, you all can poke as much fun as you like at Sharpshooter; just don't piss him off. He obliterated my targets when they made him retake the marksmanship test. Who the fuck thought it was a good idea?"" Two Guns and he also went up the ranks. 

""I think it was Batons."" 

""Fucker thinks it funny to make people re-qualify."" 

""It was Batons and he deserves whatever Sharpshooter does to him.""

Vincent hummed as he left and decided that he'd cause just a little mischief on his way out. "Anyone who can point out Batons won't get shot in the ass." The Turks abruptly went silent and as one they pointed to a shivering man with light brown hair. "By the way, I heard _everything_." 

They swept out of the office and not a peep was heard until their footsteps faded some distance. 

""Holy Minerva, he heard all of it. What the actual fuck is this guy made of again?""

* * *

Rufus Jr. pinned him with a cold stare. "Rumor has it you threatened to shoot an AVALANCHE patsy after he approached you." 

"I did," he answered honestly. 

"You also, according to this rumor, told him to do a better job than ShinRa and something about monsters. Care to explain?" The sneer was Rufus ShinRa Sr.'s down to the twist of the lips but Vincent kept that to himself. 

"You're well aware of Hojo's... Projects. You see one standing before you. ShinRa, AVALANCHE... Both are hypocrites and both have agendas. The only reason I'm here instead of with them is because of my son." Vincent put it bluntly. 

"And who is your... son?" 

"Lt. Strife. I'm sure you know him." He replied. 

Rufus Jr. blanched and then murmured, "And the assertion that ShinRa may be molded better?" 

"Truth. You can make ShinRa better but I think it'll be a progress measured in years while you gain allies amongst the company you keep. Change takes time, Vice-President, and it takes effort. I'll serve ShinRa but only to a certain point." Vincent hummed, knowing he was heavily toeing the line between impertinence and insubordination. "If it interferes with my son... The gloves are off." 

"You're threatening us?" 

"No," Vincent allowed a little of Chaos to slip through and grinned, "only a promise. Valentines keep their word, Vice-President." He tugged Chaos back in, rolled his shoulders and waited for the questions he was sure would come. 

"... Have you _always_ had it?" Rufus asked, swallowing heavily but not shaking. 

"It's... a recent addition." He admitted frankly. "One I will not use in service of ShinRa." 

"Feel free to keep it. You're dismissed."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment, complain, ect.


	18. Allies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Brief mention of a non specified experiment on Sephiroth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay folks! I've been super busy and making progress on RL things but I'm back~ 
> 
> There is a POV shift from Vincent to Chaos and back. I'm trying something new! 
> 
> Enjoy~ 
> 
> WARNING: Brief mention of an experiment on Sephiroth that caused him pain.

* * *

Veld nor Tseng spoke until they were back in Vincent's office. 

"Tseng, not a word of this is to be spoken of outside of this room or my office. Are we clear?" Verdot ordered. 

"Crystal, sir." 

"What was that, Vin?" His old partner asked flatly. 

"The reason I haven't aged in ten years and what Lucrecia put into me in the hopes that I might be revived from a gunshot wound. It worked but it put me into a coma," he answered, getting right to the point. "Had I awoken any sooner..." 

Vincent shook his head at the idea of dying. 

"Where...?" Tseng questioned softly. 

"Hojo shot me in the heart with my own gun." 

Verdot's jaw clenched until his teeth creaked and Tseng lost what composure he'd regained after they walked from the Vice President's office. 

"Tseng, you may go," Verdot ordered his subordinate and Tseng, decidedly green, agreed. 

"Yes, sir." 

Tseng was a good Turk but ShinRa had yet to turn him jaded and cold. 

Vincent was torn between calling him back or letting him stay that way for a little while longer. 

The door clicked shut before he decided and Verdot tapped the doorframe three times; once for Silence, once for Seal VI and once for Libra so that they could sense anyone trying to listen or enter. 

"I won't bother with the details but I'm alive because of it... Or rather, him." 

"Him?" 

"My Father... Grimoire... he was working on something called the Chaos Project. Do you remember?" Vincent asked and Verdot sucked in a sharp breath at mention of that long-ago project. "It's primary cause was to find Chaos... and imprison him." 

"... _They put him in you_?" Verdot asked so casually that, if it weren't for the absolute fury choking his voice, it would've sounded normal. "While you couldn't have any say in the matter." 

"Whatever they did left me hovering between life and death but Lucrecia's work pulled me back from the brink." He shrugged. "I'm still discovering the details of it all myself. Rest assured, I won't use him unless I absolutely need him." 

"Chaos is... sentient?" Verdot reached for the guest chair and sat in it heavily. 

"He is," Vincent responded, his left hand flexing out of sheer habit. It had been one of his worst tells and he thought he'd gotten rid of it until Sephiroth had displayed the same nervous tic. "Would you like to meet him?" 

"Meet—Here?" 

"No safer place outside of ShinRa right now." He pointed out as Verdot lifted a finger and opened his mouth before he lowered his hand and closed his mouth, his expression turning thoughtful. "I'd like you to meet him in a peaceful setting instead of an assignment, if that helps." 

"Do I need to step back?" Verdot asked. 

Vincent did a mental calculation of Chaos's wingspan before he shook his head no. "The office is wide enough." 

He flicked his hand into the shortcut for 'ready?' and Verdot flicked back 'ready.' 

Vincent closed his eyes and released control of his body.

* * *

Chaos stretched luxuriously, his wings half furled as he remembered the feeling of having a body. He open his eyes and spotted the human Vincent had trusted with their secret. Verdot was slack-jawed but he quickly snapped out the awed state. 

Hmm. Impressive. 

"Most humans would have run screaming," he commented as he rose his brow. "I invoke the fight-or-flight response normally." 

"I'm a Turk. I don't frighten easily," Verdot countered even as his scent smoothed out from fear to calm acceptance. 

Chaos chuckled as he tapped his nose. "Scents rarely lie, Verdot, but you are a remarkable human nonetheless." 

"Was ShinRa Jr. frightened?" 

He snorted as he sat on the desk. "Terrified but controlling it out of sheer will." 

"I see," Verdot adjusted his glove and then questioned, "Do you know why we met?" 

"Vincent trusts you with our secret. I hope you know how monumental that is," Chaos pinned Verdot with a narrowed gaze. "The amount of betrayal would have killed a lesser man." 

"I'm not going to make false promises, not when Vincent is holding so much close. I'm frankly surprised he even allowed me to take his blood to my Turk assigned to bloodwork and astonished that he's retained his trust of me despite it being ten years. I won't even go into the Sephiroth debacle..." Verdot told Chaos frankly. 

"Honesty is best, Turk, so I will tell you a secret of my own. I will **_burn all of ShinRa to the ground_** if _any_ of the Strifes are harmed in any manner. They are under my protection and I will not tolerate any organization that seeks to do so." Chaos admitted with a razor sharp smile. 

Verdot paled at that but took Chaos's warning to heart. "Duly noted. May I ask what you are?" 

"I suppose... The best description is primordial being." He huffed in amusement. "Vincent and I were hoping to visit Cosmo Canyon with our son in tow to learn more." 

"'Our son?'" Verdot questioned. 

"Sephiroth is Vincent's by blood but mine by choice. He is strong in many ways but young yet and in need of guidance. He doesn't know about me, before you ask—I won't pressure the cub when he has his own trauma and issues to work through." Chaos offered with a shrug. "There is much I would do for our son." 

"Eleven years of fighting to survive and in under half a year, Sephiroth has more support and love than he can shake a stick at, including from a being imprisoned in his birth father. I did what I could but... It was never enough." came the bittersweet reply. 

"He disclosed that he thought you were on his side during the adoption. Care to tell me how you managed that?" He prodded. "Vincent will not ask but I am free to do so." 

"I presented evidence that Sephiroth was suffering abuse under that monster's hands and I had... far too much evidence in that regard. All it took was one video, in the end, shown to ShinRa Jr. and select key members." Verdot murmured, even the mere memory making him green. 

"What was it?" Chaos ached for Sephiroth but listened instead. 

"Sephiroth was monitored almost 24/7 by him. After a nasty three-day experiment, Sephiroth was expected to do his regular SOLDIER duties. He excelled at them but the amount of pain he was in was very clear if he paused for longer than a few minutes. I played barely twenty minutes before the members unanimously judged Anika fit to parent him because she was ten times the parent that monster was not." Verdot filled in quietly. 

"Indeed. You are an excellent friend to my Host. I believe Vincent wants to spend time with Sephiroth. If you'll excuse me," Chaos agreed before he prepared to return to Vincent's mind. 

"Wait," Verdot paused before he said, "what did Vincent mean that I'll meet you on an assignment?" 

"If Vincent is incapacitated in any way, I will come out. I will mark you as our ally." Chaos explained before he closed his eyes and retreated inwards.

* * *

Vincent swayed slightly and gripped the edge of the desk as he adjusted. 

"I need to eat and go home for the day, Ver." Vincent sighed. 

"Go right ahead. He's... not what I expected." Verdot confessed. 

"I guess that depends on whether your impression was good or bad." He replied easily, almost teasing. "He thought you were quite admirable for a human, by his standards." 

"Did he mean it when he said he'd burn ShinRa?" There was the worry, buried just deep enough not to be discernible by regular human senses.

"I'm afraid he meant every word of it. Chaos is used to dealing in absolutes but nuances are not beneath him either." He hummed as he stretched and popped his joints. "I'll see you in the morning if you still want to talk."

* * *

Vincent kicked his boots off at the door and yawned as he closed the door. He contemplated the awful ShinRa protein bar, remembered the terrible drain the last transformation caused, and grimaced as he ate it out of sheer stubbornness. 

«I'm home,» he called out in Nibel. Anika poked her head out from the dining room, her face lighting up as she saw him.

«The boys are washing up. Are you alright?» she asked, taking his slumped shoulders and the faint redness around his eyes. 

«Just tired. Nothing a good night's rest and some food won't fix for me, Anika.» he explained lowly just as Sephiroth and Cloud spotted him. 

"... Chichiue." Sephiroth acknowledged and then hesitated only briefly before Vincent was being hugged again. Hellmasker started purring loudly at the freely given affection and Cloud giggled. "Your stomach is growling." 

"I had a long day and not a lot of food aside from breakfast. Time to fill it, hmm?" Vincent answered the unasked question that lingered in his son's gaze and smiled as the bright green widened. "Ask as many questions as you like, Sephiroth. If I know the answer I'll tell you. If not... We'll go look for it together." 

"Really?" Sephiroth blurted and then winced. 

"For as long as you'd like to look," he murmured as Sephiroth released him to help set the table.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment, complain, ect.


	19. ShinRa's Finest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warning: A Turk makes a gross insinuation about Vincent and Seph

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah-ha! I'm back with more Dad!Vincent in time for October~ I missed you all. 
> 
> Also a bit of self-promo but I posted a Turk-centric fic if you're interested! 
> 
> Enjoy~

* * *

The Strife household was up before daylight began, Anika and Cloud first and then Sephiroth last as he scowled at his hair. 

"Chichiue, can you help? I'm almost late for the morning kata..." Sephiroth kept pace with Vincent's long strides until Vincent stopped, contemplated the silver hair and twisted it into a Wutainese top knot that he knew like the back of his hand. 

"Tug on this strand to get it to come down. Don't forget to eat breakfast after formation," He mentioned as he pressed a kiss to Sephiroth's forehead without thought. They both froze momentarily before Vincent turned Sephiroth around and gave him a gentle nudge in the correct direction. "Go before you really are late, son." 

"Thank you Chichiue!" Sephiroth hugged him, the scent of pure, unadulterated affection washing over him. 

"You're welcome." Vincent replied softly, watching his son turn again on his heel to sprint down the hall and around the corner to the stairs. He gave a tiny huff of a laugh at all of the floor staff who were outright gawking. 

One of them whispered to his co-worker, ""That was literally the cutest shit I've ever seen at ShinRa.""

* * *

Veld nodded to him and Tseng glanced over with a welcoming expression. 

"Sharpshooter, why were you kissing—Eek!" Batons' tone was accusatory until Vincent rounded on him. 

"Lt. Strife is _my **son**_." He answered flatly as he leaned in close, "What I do with _my family_ in my private hours is **none of your business**. I haven't forgotten, Batons, that you made me retake my assessment simply because you thought it was _funny_. Would you like me to use you as target practice? I assure you that I'm a flawless shot." 

When Vincent bared his sharpened canines and faked a lunge, Batons scrambled to retreat to his cubicle. He drew himself up to his fullest height and asked in a biting tone, "Does anyone **_else_** want to tell me how to run my life? No? Good." 

He prowled into his office and closed the door so gently that everyone in the room flinched. Vincent took his anger out on back-dated paperwork from after Sephiroth was born, finishing it in record time and diving into his more current reports, his words cutting but honest. A tentative knock had him sighing softly. "Enter." 

«Veld assigned you as my partner for now,» Tseng murmured in Wutainese. «We'll guard the President and Vice, though the President's guard is a daily or weekly switch.»

«I'll guard the President so long as he doesn't expect me to talk.» Vincent allowed quietly in the same tongue. 

«You're in luck-He prefers his guard to be silent.» Tseng answered as Vincent double-checked his thigh harness and his knife set. «Ready?»

«Yes.»

* * *

The President was much larger than he'd been ten years ago and the man didn't even blink twice at him, just expectantly pointed to his right side. Vincent took up his post and glanced over the balding head to raise a brow at Tseng. The younger man also rose a brow but didn't comment. 

They stood tall beside the President and listened to all of the meetings that the President shoved off onto his sons. Yes, sons. 

Rufus Sr. had been busy outside outside of his marriage to his socialite wife with a spine of steel. Vincent counted three sons, one legitimate and the other two clearly his but not acknowledged in any way other than a position within the company. 

He took in the other two, one named Lazard and clearly new to the poisonous atmosphere of ShinRa and the other was an assistant named Evan. It made Vincent realize that, for all of his faults and mistakes, he at least _acknowledged_ his son. The marriage certificate in Nibelheim's Town Hall was proof that he'd tried to do his best before he'd been shot.

The President made them stand outside of the room for his 'meeting' with the Honeybee. Vincent flicked up a Silence II and a Libra in order to figure out when they needed to look presentable and muttered, «He's gotten dull.»

«The President?» Tseng inquired quietly. 

«Mm-hmm. Twelve years ago, he took notice of everyone in the room and had them searched for weapons.» He explained. «Now he's all but handed over the company he worked from the ground up to build into the hands of his sons.» 

Tseng's eyes widened briefly but he hid his surprise well. «That is concerning. Should we have him tested?»

«Yes but do it as discreetly as possible. Hair is the easiest, followed by what he's putting in the trash right now.» Tseng's nose wrinkled at that. «I'll grab the sample if you want.»

«Yes please.»

Vincent plucked a hair while the President was leering at the leaving Honeybee. "I like you two. Quiet, professional. You make me look good. Stay on meeting duty until I get sick of you." 

"Yes, sir." They agreed at the same time, Vincent pocketing the hair easily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment, complain, ect.


	20. Lessons in Parenthood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realized that Canon!Seph never heard about his mother and I decided to fix that here. 
> 
> Dad!Vincent is one of his best sources along with Lucrecia's Mom, Ifalna and ShinRa records of her. This also lays down an important plot point that we'll get to in Captain's Log! 
> 
> Enjoy~
> 
> Edit 10/17/17: Changed Baba to Chichiue after research

* * *

Vincent handed over the hair in a glass vial to Veld with five words, "Something's wrong with the President." 

"His personal physician hasn't mentioned a problem to us," Veld murmured. 

"Twelve years ago he would've had the board members searched for weapons or recording devices. He was alert and paid attention to inner departmental bickering because it meant funding wasn't going to the right places. When did he get complacent?" He questioned and Veld snorted. 

"He relied on us but I see now that perhaps we shouldn't be too good at our jobs." 

"No, I mean something is wrong. He's... dull. I've changed in the past ten years, true, but not to that level." Vincent huffed. Galian thought it might be the man's body, given that his scent wasn't as sharp or as steady as his son's had been. "Humor a hunch, will you?" 

"Well," Veld sighed as he signaled Katana and Two Guns to join the discussion, "Katana, Two Guns, you've been here nearly as long as Sharpshooter and I. Has the President been slower? Less inclined to deal with the company?" 

"Now that you mention it, Boss, I'd say yes." Two Guns muttered as he ran his callused thumb across his thigh harness. "He's been handing over a good chunk of it to the Vice for a few years now." 

Katana frowned heavily and then agreed with a simple, "Yes, Boss." 

"Hmm. Tseng?" Veld prodded, a furrow in his brow where it'd been smooth before. 

"I agree with Sharpshooter. When I started, he was still questioning people's motives within the company. He didn't even blink at Sharpshooter's appearance, sir, and he's very hard to ignore when he wants to be seen. No offense, sir." Tseng offered. 

"None taken, I've got Turk-issued wear almost back from the tailors. I'll blend in a bit better soon." Vincent responded with a wry tone. "I'm well aware of what I look like. I do believe I've heard 'vampire' at least a hundred times by now." 

"You look close to Tseng's age but then you talk and shatter that illusion." Katana murmured. 

"I can tell that this'll be a lost battle already." He sighed and then shook his head. "I'm Veld's age. Yes, that means I know what a rotary phone is; no, I don't need you to teach me how to use a PHS and if you try, I'll break your fingers."

* * *

He slumped into the couch, massaging between his brows from all of the questions he'd gotten from the younger Turks. 

"Chichiue? Are... you alright?" Vincent cracked open an eye to look at his son before he smiled faintly. 

"Now I am," he murmured. "Where's your mother?" 

"Dinner service. There's snacks if you want but Mom usually says it's a, umm, 'fend for yourself night' today. Cloud eats in the kitchen with Mom." Sephiroth replied as he wandered into the kitchen in his uniform top and loose house pants. 

Vincent changed into pjs and leaned over Sephiroth to see what was in the fridge, black hair mingling with silver as they looked together. "Hmm. Would you like to know how to cook for yourself?" 

"Am I old enough?" Sephiroth asked. 

"My _Kaa-San_ , your _Obāchan_ , she taught me around your age. They were simple but filling recipes." He answered as he pulled the ingredients for a stir fry. 

"What's... _Obāchan_?" his son hesitated before asking another question. Vincent tucked Sephiroth's hair behind his ears and gently gathered it into a messy up do, securing it with a heavy-duty hair tie. 

He did the same for his own hair with his headband as he replied,"It's Grandmother in Wutainese. _Kaa-San_ is mother or Mom." 

"Oh. Nicky's been teaching me the characters but we haven't been talking about word meanings. Just the basics." Sephiroth offered freely. Vincent gently squeezed his son's shoulder as he looked for cutting boards and a knife. "Cutting boards are to your left, Chichiue, and knives are right side of the fridge in the drawer." 

"Thank you." He brushed past Sephiroth to grab the items and chuckled softly when strong, thin arms wrapped around his waist. "We'll start with the stove and cooking after prep."

"Are we cutting things?" Sephiroth blurted, looking hopefully at the paring knife. "I can cut it." 

"Mmhmm. You'll need to grab the step, though, my son." Sephiroth beamed at him and he crooned softly as his son picked up the step stool and placed it right next to him, getting on top of it so that he was nearly at Vincent's height. "Cut the vegetables into bite-sized cubes for me, please. Do you want to leave the broccoli as it is?" 

"Yeah." Sephiroth's tongue poked out, his silver brows scrunched as he concentrated on making the cubes as Vincent cut the meat into manageable strips and covered them with plastic wrap before sticking it back into the fridge. He watched as a strand escaped the up do and Sephiroth blew it out of his face the way Lucrecia used to do, with a cross-eyed look and a huff of impatience. "I'm done Chichiue." 

"So you are. Now, here's how to make the sauce..." Vincent guided Sephiroth's smaller hands and understood, with a clarity only brought on by hindsight, that his _Kaa-San_ had been teaching him as a way to spend more time with him. "How's it taste?" 

"Good!" Green eyes crinkled at the corners as his son looked pleased with himself. "What now?" 

"Now we turn on the stove and cook the meat." He hummed as he lifted Sephiroth gently, scooted the stool across the kitchen to the stove and set his son down again. "Was that alright?" 

Sephiroth blinked at him and then he giggled. "I'm fine, Chichiue." 

Vincent seared the meat but allowed Sephiroth to turn the pieces over with his own set of tongs. They finished up cooking the meal and sat at the table to eat, Sephiroth tangling his feet with Vincent's absently as he did so. 

Dishes were done, counters wiped and Sephiroth yawned as they tossed the last papertowel into the garbage. 

"Bedtime, I think." 

"Could you... Umm, nevermind." Sephiroth rubbed at his nose and flushed even as he fled to the bathroom. 

The only thing that came to mind was that Sephiroth wanted to be tucked in and be told a story. Vincent waited until his son was out of the bathroom and quietly said, "Did you want me to tuck you in?" 

Sephiroth nodded and scuffed his foot against the carpet. "You'd do that?" 

"Oh, my son," Vincent knelt and patted his thigh, grunting at the weight of Sephiroth completely relaxed. "you are loved. I can't deny anything that would make you happy. I know that perhaps there are some things we can never do together but what I'm capable of granting, I will do so in a heartbeat." 

"You mean it?" The snuffle and the hurt in his son's voice made Vincent hold on even tighter. 

"You are the greatest gift I have ever been given, Sephiroth." He breathed out as he lifted his son up and shifted his hold to pull back the covers. Vincent tucked his son in and stroked the backs of his fingers against Sephiroth's tear-streaked cheek. "You're my son. I don't have the words to tell you how much it means to me that _I'm here with you_."

He wiped at his own tears with the heel of his right hand when Sephiroth offered him a tissue. Vincent blew his nose and then held another tissue to Sephiroth's nose. "I'll be right back." 

"Okay." 

He tossed the tissues and wetted a washcloth with cool water, splashing his own face with cold water to calm himself. Drying off was the work of moments before he gently wiped his son's face down and placed the cloth into a bowl on the night stand. 

Vincent climbed into the bed and Sephiroth pillowed his cheek against Vincent's chest. "I'm afraid I don't have many stories suitable for someone your age." 

"That's okay." Sephiroth muttered softly, "Can you tell me about my Mom? The one that gave me up." 

"Lucrecia?" Surprise welled up in Vincent before it settled. 

"Is that her name?" Of course their son would want to know about her; he'd never met her or knew her other than as the woman who'd given birth to him. 

"Not all of it. Her full name was Dr. Lucrecia Crescent-Valentine... She was many things, your Mother. I noticed her intellegence before I ever thought she was pretty; that came afterwards." Vincent responded. 

"Do I look like her?" He'd expected that question. 

Vincent chuckled softly, his heart sore from talking about his first love but full because it was their son he was sharing her with. "You get your bangs, your eyes and your cheeks from her. You stick your tongue out the same way, you flick your hair to the left the same way... The rest is all Valentine, I'm afraid." 

"What about liking Masamune?" 

"Weaponry is from your _Obāsan_ ," he replied wryly. "That would be the Himura Clan." 

"Oh." Sephiroth yawned, tucking himself against Vincent's side as he settled down to sleep. "Tell me more?" 

"You know how I lift my arm out of habit? She used to do what you're doing now on late nights when the data sets ran long..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment, complain, ect.


	21. Subtlety is An Artform

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vincent interacts with more adults in the next few chapters and I'm trying to figure out how to sneak more Anika and Ifalna and Aerith in. Any ideas? My hand is aching and I've been staring at this chapter for nearly a full day so here you go! 
> 
> Enjoy~

* * *

Vincent jerked awake briefly to feel a head pillowed on the other side of his chest. 

He settled back down when the scent reminded him of Anika, just smaller. 

Cloud then. 

He looked up to see Anika holding up a Polaroid of all three of them piled together with a tired but triumphant grin. 

'Join us?' Vincent mouthed and Anika shuffled out of her apron to curl around her son.

* * *

Vincent watched his son grow and thrive under the attention of three adults who cared about his well being, the support of his son's military superiors and nearly everyone his son acknowledged was fond of him. 

He went to work in his Turk suit, surprising a great many of his coworkers. 

"Sharpshooter?!" 

"Yes, Katana?" Vincent murmured politely as he made copies of his paperwork for Veld to look over. "I did tell you I was fitted for a set of suits." 

"... I find myself preferring the cloak." Katana teased lightly as he glanced down at Cerberus's thigh holster. Vincent's Quicksilver was tucked into a shoulder harness and he now had another, more modified Quicksilver in order to balance out his shooting on the left side. 

The gauntlet drew attention but Vincent didn't bother trying to cover it. He retained the headband because the first time he'd gone without it, ShinRa employees had been trying to get his PHS number and a _date_.

A date when they're nearly half his age. 

It didn't help that the demons, even Chaos, rather preferred Captain Highwind—Cid, as the man himself insisted. 

Vincent worried for his son's health the second he left puberty; Anika warned him that Sephiroth had the best of both his and Lucrecia's traits. 

He'd taken to wearing an uninviting expression unless it was around his fellow Turks or his chosen family. 

Katana glanced at his headband. Vincent dryly answered the wordless question, "If I don't keep this on, I get asked for my number or a date to Sector Four's most popular restaurant. Before you ask what's wrong with that, I'll have you know that it's multiple people asking and a politely worded negative creates fainting." 

"Ah. That's why you look like you're going to murder someone if they approach you outside of the Turks and Lt. Strife. Very effective deterent." Katana murmured, patting his elbow consolingly and returning to his cubicle. 

Vincent returned to his own office and flipped open his PHS to text Alric. 

**Vincent: Alric, are you near Midgar?**

_Alric: I'm in the Mythril Mines._

_Alric: Help with the Zolom pack_

_Alric: would be nice?_

**Vincent: See you in about two hours**

He stood, stretched and knocked on Veld's door. 

Veld grinned as he saw the suit, tugging him into the office by his tie. 

The rumor mill was going to fly about that one. 

"You clean up well, Vin." Verdot teased as he sipped his coffee. 

"Mmm. I've been asked on no less than twenty eight dates to La Pomme in less than three weeks. I've stopped smiling at people, Ver, and my face hurts from scowling so much. Help." Vincent pleaded. 

Verdot set down his coffee and laughed until he was red in the face and wheezing. "Oh _Ramuh_ , this is just too good." Verdot sniffed and sighed, shaking his head at Vincent's plight. "Wear your cloak over it. The Turk suit just emphasizes and enhances what appeal you do have. It may be an obnoxious shade of red but at least it hides your shape." 

"I've got the paperwork you need to glance over. Anything new on the President?" He asked, all business again. 

"An over-active thyroid. He's been losing weight but his former physician failed to tell us this. He's on medication now and he appears to be taking the reigns again, much to the Vice's displeasure. He's back to pressuring Wutai." 

"That is concerning." Vincent replied as he stole a sip of Verdot's coffee. Chaos made the mental equivalent of 'ne-ner-ne-ner' as Verdot's hand hit the desk looking for his coffee. "What about the negotiations?" 

"It's a lot of hemming and hawing and working through the tinest of contract details." came the caustic answer. 

"... Is Lord Himura still in charge of outside communications?" He prodded as Verdot rolled his eyes and held out his hand for his coffee back, wiggling a thermos to exchange. 

"It's Lady Himura now. She's taken over his efforts and doing a magnificent job of dodging shady clauses in the contract." His old partner responded as he snatched back his coffee. 

"The Honorable Lady Rei Himura?" Vincent murmured. His great-aunt rarely, if ever, put herself in the spotlight but if she did...

"Y-How do you know her?" Verdot blinked at his question. 

"She's my great-aunt. She never approved of my Kaa-San marrying out of the Clan and liked my Father even less. The Himuras are a strong clan and there are many branches. Sephiroth and I are part of the main line, though not in a position to be folded back into the clan. It's something that may or may not help you in the future, I suppose." He shrugged as he drank nearly half the thermos after he opened it. "May I leave? I've got to meet with a friend in an hour or so. He needs help getting past the Zolom pack." 

"... Sure. Can I mention you to the negotiators?" Verdot questioned. 

"The Honorable Lady Himura is too well bred to react but I would suggest you give my name to one of her retinue to gauge her feelings on the Valentine clan." Vincent explained. "This," the hand movement was small, a half circle with the two forefingers, "means unfavorable. And this," here he moved his fingers in a 'V', "means that she'll consider it. You'll get a response within a week or so of asking. She'll need to think but not too much." 

"I'll keep that in mind."

* * *

Vincent slipped into his hunting outfit, killed most of the Zoloms and aided the party in finishing off the last one. 

"Sharpshooter!" Alric hugged him as most of the party hung back. "Helga's here and so is Gareth. Mmm, that's Jurio, Lilac and Oliver. They're new to hunting." 

"Where is Juniper?" He pressed, looking for the lanky woman who was nearly his equal in marksmanship but with a crossbow. 

"She fell in with AVALANCHE; haven't heard a peep out of her since. Holly and Mistle fought them off. Those Jones women sure are scary..." Alric sighed as the group came closer. 

"Eyy, Sharp, you find what you were looking for?" Helga asked as she took in his weaponry. 

"... I did." 

"Aaaand?" Helga drawled out, searching for an answer. 

"Her son is also mine." He admitted quietly. 

"Oh. Oh shit. Is he okay?" She asked in concern. 

"He's fine," Vincent was quick to assure even as he flicked through his PHS photos. "Here." 

Helga squealed at the sight of Sephiroth holding hands with Cloud and Aerith as they played in the Gainsborough yard. 

"The one in the middle, right?" Alric asked as his violet gaze roamed over Sephiroth's content expression. 

"His name is Sephiroth." Vincent pointed out with fondness painting his tone. 

"Wait, wait, _your kiddo_ is SOLDIER's poster boy?!?" Helga hissed out. 

"... I've removed him from that status. He's eleven. He needs what little time he has left as a child just to be a child." He argued back. 

"Where-" 

" _Do not finish that question_ , Jones." Vincent snarled lowly, both hands clenching into fists. "The circumstances of our separation were beyond my control." 

"Helga, Sharpshooter's been through enough bullshit. He's working on it, alright? Don't pressure him." Alric cut in before Vincent lunged for Helga, his gaze burning into hers as Alric stood between them. "Sharp, go walk it off. I'll talk with you in a minute." 

Vincent chose to silently help the new hunters with the Zolom hides, watching as Alric spoke softly and Helga wilted under the lecture, for lecture it must have been. 

She waited for him to finish with the others before she pulled Vincent to the side. "Sharp, I'm sorry I assumed about you and your kid." 

"... Perhaps we are lucky to have a mediator such as Alric in our midst. Sephiroth is my son, Helga, and I resent the implication that I left him on purpose. That is the _farthest_ thing from the truth." He stated carefully. "I don't have to explain to you what caused it but know this; had it not occurred, my son would be living as normal a life as I could manage." 

"I sure as hell stepped into a pile of Chocobo droppings, didn't I?" She asked ruefully. 

"Yes," Vincent succiently answered. "yes you did." 

"So, I guess you're a DILF now." She slyly commented. 

"... I get the feeling that I'm going to regret asking this but," He warily inquired, "what is a DILF?" 

"Well, it stands for..." She whispered the rest of it into his ear. 

Vincent flushed bright red as she giggled helplessly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment, complain, ect.


	22. The Sin of Romance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Frank discussion of sexuality had between two adults

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've got a question for you lovely readers! 
> 
> Do you prefer it when I update sporadically or would you prefer a schedule? 
> 
> Usually these come out with a little bit of the next chapter written but I'm curious as to what you all think!
> 
> Anywho, enjoy~

* * *

Cid didn't laugh as Vincent carefully explained his reason for going to Midgar and then admitted his newly acquired 'title' given to him by Helga. 

"Ah can't say she's wrong but she didn't hafta objectify you." Cid murmured around his cigarette. "How's your kid?" 

"He's _wonderful_ ," Vincent quietly enthused. "Sephiroth reminds me a great deal of his Mother but he is his own person. He's an excellent big brother and... ah. My apologies." 

Cid had placed his chin in his hand but smiled when Vincent self-conciously paused. "Go on. Ah bet you don't really get ta talk like this too often." 

"We spent time together where I taught him to cook his own meal. Seph is eleven but he's incredibly smart; he's mastered Nibel already and now he's working on the two separate Wutainese dialects, both written and spoken. I'm teaching him how to use throwing knives. I'm spending as much time as I can with him, trying to make up for lost time but he never seems to take it the wrong way. How did I get so lucky to have such a child?" Vincent ended as he traced the edge of his mug of green tea, taking a drink to soothe himself. 

"Th' fact that you're tryin' at all, much less tryin' to make up time, probably means a lot ta him. Mah parents are a sweet pair an' Ah got siblings 'n cousins who love everybody but not everybody had what Ah had. Yer doin' just fine, Vince." Cid reassured gently. 

"Thank you, Cid." 

"Ya don't mind the nickname?" Cid asked. 

"No, Cid," He chuckled softly, leaning forward before he restrained himself. "I don't mind it." 

No, no, it was far too soon to... Oh dear. 

Vincent was starting to like Cid Highwind very much. 

**_There is no shame in liking him, Vincent._** The ancient being chided. 

_That's not the problem, Chaos._ He sighed as he sank into the misty place. _With Lucrecia, the attraction was mental before it was physical. With Cid, I fear that I cannot..._

Chaos snorted as he barked out, **_That you're not worthy of him. That you're tainted beyond all reason, that you're unlovable—That we are unsettling to him. You fear rejection, Host._**

_One of many things, Chaos, among them the fear that I will remain the same as he ages and dies, taking my heart with him._ Vincent reminded his companion with an ache in his voice. _That's if he says yes at all._

"-nce? Vincent?" Cid had stubbed out his ever-present cig and had left it in the ash-tray as he gently gripped Vincent's shoulders through the cloak. "Vince, you alright?" 

"It... seems that I am forever apologizing to you, Captain. My thoughts, they can get... rather turbulent. Thank you for your worry." He murmured as he patted Cid's hand with his right one. 

"Ah imagine they would be, th' way your face went all broody," Cid teased very gently, trying to lighten Vincent's mood again. 

"Broody?" was what he managed without sounding completely surprised. 

"Yeah, like," Here Cid's expression turned stony and unapproachable, one that was almost frightening in it's intensity before Cid grinned again. "that. Ya make it look like th' front of some bodice ripper though, 'stead of my face." 

"A bodice ripper?" Vincent was relieved that here he could express as freely as he wished. 

His Kaa-San had used it once to describe something she insisted was tawdry but had never explained it in clear terms before she'd passed on. 

"Aww, Vince, you're missing out on some damn good literature! Romance novels, technically, but Ah got some recommendations." Cid offered cautiously. "... Y'know, if yer into that." 

"I find my bookshelves lacking any reading material at all and I would appreciate recommendations of all genres," here he paused and teased with a tiny smile, "bodice rippers included." 

Cid blinked and then cracked up, scooting his chair closer to explain the note taking and email application on Vincent's PHS. "Well, then Ah suggest you start with The Millionaire and the Chocobo Stablehand..." 

His friend's shoulder pressed against the cloth on his left shoulder and Vincent let it stay, the warmth that bloomed in his chest both familiar and slightly less painful than it rightly should be.

* * *

Cid's recommended titles ended up having two options each; the more obvious romance and then... a version where men prefered men. 

_Vincent: There are two of them._

Attached Photo 

**Cid: Err, didn't want to assume.**

**Cid: Both are good.**

_Vincent: You've read both?_

There was a lengthy silence from Cid's end before the pilot apparently said 'screw it.' 

**Cid: Yeah**

_Vincent: Which is more popular?_

_Vincent: Which do you prefer?_

**Cid: Beta version**

**Cid: Answer to both ?s**

**Cid: why?**

Vincent held the Beta version up to the camera with his gauntlet, careful not to tear the cover as he texted with one hand after the picture. 

_Vincent: Does my face out-do the cover?_

_Vincent: Can I drop my current job_

_Vincent: and model for these absolutely_

_Vincent: ridiculous covers instead?_

Cid called him for the answer, laughter the first sound to filter through. ""Ahahahaha, yer funny, Vince. Ah wouldn't give up your day-job. Face is too pretty to fit on th' cover."" 

"Captain, that had better be a compliment." He said with a dry tone. 

""It ain't. It's a damn fact."" Cid shot back and Vincent used the book to muffle his own laughter. ""Y'know, when you asked about my preference, did ya mean t' give me a heartattack?"" 

"Why?" Vincent tucked the book into the basket hanging off of his arm in the bookstore in Junon. He selected several other titles based on Cid's list and picked a few he thought Sephiroth might enjoy as he tucked the phone between his cheek and shoulder. "There's nothing wrong with your preference." 

The silene was telling enough on it's own. 

"Cid Highwind, I look like I escaped from the _theatre_ half the time when I meet with you." Vincent almost growled the question as he snagged a cookbook, grimaced when it suggested that Wutainese food was 'exotic' before he placed it back with an affronted expression. "What, on this good green Planet, suggested that I would judge you?" 

""... Habit, Ah think. Ya got a kiddo but that don't mean jack-shit with it comes t' sexuality. So... C'n Ah ask or is that invasive as fuck?"" Cid finally managed. 

"I'm not sure if there's even a word for it but both? Both are nice and have qualities that are unique but attractive." here Vincent rolled to a stop to contemplate the parenting books. 

He flipped through a few of the books at what would be considered fast for a civilian and was surprised to find that most of what he'd been doing was highly suggested and encouraged in these books. 

""There's a word for that,"" Cid blurted over the phone. 

"Oh." Vincent uttered softly before he swore in Wutainese, neatly but violently for exactly five seconds. "As I am sure you've gathered, I have no idea where to start connecting with people like... myself." 

""Ah gotcha. The word you're lookin' for is bisexual or just bi. T' be fair, there's a lot of pressure to pick a gender you prefer but that's fucking bullshit. Ah'm pansexual or pan myself, means Ah'm happy with whatever Ah find in someone's pants an' as you c'n guess, same sort of pressure t' pick one."" came the amused reply. 

"Indeed. I'm afraid I must cut the call short as I don't want to be rude to my cashier, Cid." Vincent sighed as he eyed his pile of books. 

""Yeah, yeah, Ah know. Text me when you're done with that first book. Ah wanna know how ya liked it, okay?""

"I will. Goodbye, Cid." 

""Bye Vince.""

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment, complain, ect.


	23. Lucrecia's Sacrifice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mentions of Hojo and JENOVA

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I do apologize for the insane amount of time between chapters but hopefully it won't get that bad again! 
> 
> Poor Vincent learns a lot of things that are important for the future of the Nibel series as a whole and this will begin to catch up to Vol. 1 of Of Courage. 
> 
> Enjoy~

* * *

Perhaps it was Bahamut's blessing that Vincent was reassigned to the Presidential Guard on a rotational basis. He stood silently by the man's side, his suit matching Tseng's and then the President turned to him. "As I understand it, you've been with the company for a very long time. How long?" 

"... Twenty-two years, sir." 

"You married, Turk?" 

"I was," He answered flatly, keeping his attention on the glitterati of the rich and famous at the party while also on the lookout for threats. 

President ShinRa's bulging eyes narrowed just enough to be alarming, an intellegent gleam burning in them now. "A Turk that doesn't spout vague responses, eh? I like you already. So, nasty divorce?" 

"A widower, I'm afraid, sir." Vincent glanced down at the man he was supposed to be protecting before resuming his watchful stance. 

"Did you at least like her?" 

"... Sir?" He went back to blank for a moment before the President called him out on it. 

"Your wife, Turk. Don't play coy." 

Vincent's shoulders straightened and Tseng, on the other side, inhaled a sudden, sharp breath. Even the Turks knew a taboo subject when it came up and the President had stepped right in it. 

"We loved one another... very much, sir." He admitted, causing Tseng to look at him with wide brown eyes. The President nearly choked on his champagne as Vincent quietly continued. "You would have known her as Dr. Crescent." 

President ShinRa cleared his throat and sought out other rich people at the party, careful to avoid the subject of marriage or talking to his bodyguards again.

* * *

He sought out Ifalna after that shift, finding her in the church, working by lantern light to sort her piles of soil and compost. 

"May I help?" Vincent asked, part of him still furious at ShinRa's line of questioning. 

"Of course." They worked in tandem for a while before she prodded gently, "What happened?" 

"ShinRa Sr... inquired about my past. Specifically my marriage." he replied as his claws shredded plant matter and his hand did the same. "The one I had with Lucrecia." 

"Ah. Lucrecia lives, if it's any consolation. Though what she insists is living is not, nor will it ever be, a good definition of the word." Ifalna offered. 

"She's _alive_?" His elation was tempered by a flare in the force trapped within his chest, the one that beat in time with Chaos' own heart. 

"Encased in Mako, surrounded by the Nibel Range since before my daughter was born. Vincent, she's not looking to be saved. This is her penance, she says, for bringing to the world a child she has never known—for doing what she did to you in the name of science and forces she didn't understand, not then. Even if you were to visit with Sephiroth himself, I doubt she'd respond." came the response as Ifalna began to put soil into a pot and sprinkle seeds into it. 

Vincent mulled it over as he also put soil into the pots closest to him. "She's doing it for a reason. She must be." 

"I suppose you're right. She's preventing the Calamity from taking shape." 

"... Calamity?" He echoed, knowing deep down that whatever it was, it was connected to something. Maybe even someone. 

"The Calamity is a being, before you ask, and she's the reason Aerith and I are the last of our kind. She's also the reason why your son has silver hair; she's engraved into his DNA due to Lucrecia's agreement to be injected with the Calamity's cells." Ifalna stopped working, her green eyes solemn and serious. 

"Sephiroth mentioned something he called... black stuff in a shot Hojo used to give him bi-weekly." Vincent admitted, staring at his dirt-covered hands. "Was that her?" 

"Yes." 

"... How much do you know about her?" 

"A lot but more of her would be in Hojo's notes. The bastard was nothing if not thorough." she sighed as she packed her equipment away. "Help me up?" 

"I'll need to speak with Dr. Jakobs but I'll see what I can dig up. Is she a threat?" Vincent rinsed his hands in the shockingly cool pool of water that Ifalna pointed out, drying them with a combination of Aero and Fira. "Of course." 

He picked her up, knowing that her spine and her legs weren't in the best of shape due to Hojo's work. 

"Vincent, there are some things we cannot stop; some things we can only hinder or stall. The Calamity will be one of the few things we can do something about." she murmured, leaning against his shoulder and wrapping her arms around his neck. 

"Then I look forward to the day we can do something about the Calamity."

* * *

He and Ifalna poured over the copies of the notes Hojo had made, crossing out the contradictions which had also been in books shredded under Vincent's claws. 

More than once, Vincent wanted to set the notes on fire. 

He only refrained due to the factual pieces of information Hojo had been able to gather. 

The more Vincent read, the more riled he got. 

Hojo had done so much to his son, so many painful things in the name of progressing his 'genius.' 

That monster masquerading as a man had named the Calamity JENOVA after an ancient Summon that no longer worked. 

The real Jenova Summon had been sitting behind Director Scarlet's chair until Vincent managed to be in her office with the Vice-President. It glowed brightly while he was there—enough to where the Weapons R&D Director noticed. 

"Is that doing what I think it's doing?" She demanded, pinning Vincent with a long, scrutinizing look. 

"It is glowing, ma'am, if that's what you're asking me." 

"Step that way," Scarlet pointed and Vincent rose a brow. 

He glanced at ShinRa, knowing who he was expected to take orders from, "Do as she says for now. I admit to being quite curious as well." 

Vincent stepped to the edge of the room and the Materia in the case dulled. 

"Now back this way, one step at a time." 

Vincent slowly made his way back over to the Vice, the Materia glowing brightly by the time he situated himself again by ShinRa's side. 

"Hmm. Keep it. It was a defunct Materia to begin with but do with it as you please." Scarlet dismissed him with a careless wave of her red taloned hand before turning her considerable attention on the younger ShinRa. 

Vincent picked it up and it flared purple; a Summon and one that Chaos clearly knew. 

**_That is the real Je-novae. She'll be the best of your Summons, no doubt about that._** Chaos murmured as Vincent set Je-novae into his Silver Bangle. 

_What do you know of the Calamity?_

**_Regretably, not enough, though I am willing to fight her if you are, Host._** Chaos answered. 

Vincent silently agreed to that even as he stood guard behind the Vice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment, complain, ect.


	24. The Wrath of a Demon and a Dragon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Proceed with caution; Vincent chokes someone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew! Not dead, just con-crunching like crazy! (Cloud, why u have so many spikes?!) 
> 
> We're almost at an end for this fic but never fear, Dad!Vincent is still here! We're catching up to Vol. 1 of Of Courage so I figured the ending of this one can be used to launch the next one~ I'll give you folks the title of the next one on the last chapter. 
> 
> Enjoy with caution~

* * *

ShinRa gave Sephiroth a monster extermination mission by himself, citing that he could handle it. 

Anika and Vincent vehemently disagreed with higher up. 

"That is my son and he needs back-up, even if it is a fellow Third Class." Anika argued with the Director of SOLDIER, one Iago Dreyfus.

"He's been on missions like this before, Mrs. Strife, Mr....?" 

"Valentine. Lt. Strife is my son by blood and if you think Anika or I are letting this go, you are mistaken. A Behemoth is nothing to shake a stick at, let alone a pride of them. Would you send a Third Class by himself if he was not my son?" Vincent stated coolly. 

"Well, no-" 

"Then you are not sending our son alone." 

"We need the other SOLDIERs to protect Midgar. Unless you know someone of equal strength—" 

"Then you will partner him with me. A joint mission between the Turks and SOLDIER has been done before, with great success." He countered. 

"You? You're just a T-uuuurghk!" The Director found himself lifted off the floor by Vincent, the gauntlet's edges staining with blood as Vincent let him dangle. 

"I am more than just a Turk, though most of my department is competent. My son is superhuman, yes, but not immortal. He can get hurt and as my son is _only eleven years old_ , I will request once more that you partner him with another SOLDIER or myself if you insist on sending him out there." Vincent coldly informed the Director, Dreyfus slowly turning blue in his grip as Vincent closed his hand slowly. 

"Put him down. Director, please understand that our son means a great deal to us." Anika hummed as she placed a familiar cast iron pan upon the Director's desk, dent side facing outward. "However, do keep in mind that the last man that intended to hurt either of my sons didn't make it out of my kitchen." 

Vincent released the man carefully in order not to shred his throat. 

Dreyfus gasped in air and then nearly choked on it again at the sight of the pan. 

"Oh, so we _do_ understand one another. I trust my co-parent will be signed onto the order?" 

"Ye-ghk!-yes." Dreyfus gurgled.

"I'm glad we had this talk, Director." Anika returned the pan to her inventory and stood with a smile that didn't reach her steel gaze. 

They left the room and then Anika sighed as she stared at her hands. «I'm asking as a friend and as Seph's mother but please, get that man out of that seat. He's a gods damned menace to our boy.»

«Consider it done.»

* * *

Veld was waiting in front of the door that lead into the Turk bull pen. "I've been told to discipline you in regards to the incident with Director Dreyfus. Care to tell me why your hand is still dripping?" 

"He wanted to send my son after a full pride of Behemoths." Vincent managed to say civilly enough. "Eight individuals, five fully grown, three subadults. Sephiroth is competent and could take on the pride with backup. Dreyfus was going to send him in _alone_." 

Veld's jaw worked for a long moment before, "When is the mission to take place?" 

"A week from now." 

"Inside." 

"Yes, sir."

* * *

The second the door closed on Vincent's office, Verdot blew out a long breath. 

"Did you succeed in securing Sephiroth a partner?" 

"Anika and I managed to negotiate my partnership with my son." he admitted. "After I choked him." 

"... I don't fault you in the least for choking that bastard. Odin's balls, a full pride is suicide even for Squad Delta. As it is, you'll have to hand over your visible Quicksilvers and be "tied" to this desk for the time being. Would you like me to clean that before it gets caked?" Verdot dragged a hand down his face but offered help anyway. 

"If you wouldn't mind? It's difficult to get into the crevices..." Vincent answered in relief.

* * *

Sephiroth, his face buried in a thick folder and a monster guide, looked up with a strained smile at the sight of him. 

"Director Dreyfus is sending me on a solo mission." 

"No he isn't. I'm your partner." Vincent carefully pried the folder from Sephiroth's grip and flipped to the appropriate page. "Here, see?" 

His son slumped in relief, slitted green eyes scanning over the text that stated Sharpshooter had been added as insurance on ShinRa's behalf. It wouldn't do for the company to lose their best against something they couldn't control, after all, much as it sickened Vincent to think of his son that way. 

Vincent sat down next to Sephiroth, not surprised in the least when his son hugged him tightly enough for his ribs to creak. "Thank you, Chichiue." 

"Your Mom and I worked together on this one," he hummed as he started carding his fingers through Sephiroth's hair out of habit. 

"... What do you mean you and Mom?" Sephiroth looked up and oh, _there_ Lucrecia was, down to the furrowed brows and suspicious squint. 

"She may or may not have borrowed a certain pan from the Turks with a bribe of her peanut butter cookies." He confessed easily with a shrug. "Your Mom and I were furious with Director Dreyfus and rest assured, we are doing everything we can to get him removed from the position." 

"I'd... maybe talk to SOLDIER Squads Bravo and Kilo? It's not just me he's bothering, I'm sure of it." came the suggestion. "Lt. Colonel Thomas might help too." 

"Hmm. You'll be an excellent strategist yet. Now, how would you go about tackling the pride?" Vincent praised as Sephiroth stretched to snag the monster guide with his fingertips. 

As Sephiroth planned and Vincent countered, he knew moments like these were more precious than anything the Planet had to offer.

* * *

Veld had secured his release to the cafeteria, which Dreyfus never deemed acceptable and had all of his food delivered to his door via an establishment on the Plate. 

He found himself in a knot of SOLDIERs, casually spaced far enough from his son as to not intrude on his time with his friends. 

"I take it you're Strife's old man?" The comment, coming from a SOLDIER older than Vincent himself, was light and conversational enough not to arouse suspicion. 

"I am," he replied as he dug into Anika's garlic mashed potatoes. She tested all of her recipes with them about a week before they hit the menu, making sure to change it with new recipes she picked up from those on KP duty. 

"Strife made it clear that you being away was not your choice but I'm glad you're here now. Can't stand the Turks, can't stand our Director but you? I think I can work with you. Lt. Colonel Thomas, son, and don't bother with that salutin' mess." Thomas grumbled. 

"Seeing as you're not my superior but my equivalent, I won't bother." Vincent snorted and Thomas gave a quiet chuckle. 

"I see where he gets his bluntness from, at least. Dreyfus is the last of the original administration put into place along with Hojo. They got along too well for my tastes and when it came to Strife..." The scars running across Thomas' face pulled taunt as the man frowned. 

"I see. My son did say to speak with you as well as Bravo and Kilo. I trust that just this once, you'll let my department to do their jobs?" Vincent hummed as he moved along to the double-fried chicken. 

"Y'know, if it's for Strife that we're getting along, I think I can manage. That boy's been through too much to be subjected to more on the whims of some asshole with a pen and too much power behind it." Thomas added, the softened expression when he glanced at Sephiroth more than enough proof that SOLDIER higher ups did care about Vincent's son. 

"I'm glad to hear that my son has more allies than I thought." 

"Are we eating with Turks now, Alex?" Major Wolf, Sephiroth's immediate superior, asked as he sat down across from Vincent. 

"We do when they're Strife's father." came the dry counter. 

Wolf's golden gaze switched between Sephiroth and Vincent and then he shrugged. 

"About time Strife got some more support. I'm just gonna assume Professor Creepy did something to get you out of his way." Wolf said as he also dug into his lunch. 

"More than you know but essentially, yes. My current problem is Dreyfus." Vincent told him flat-out. 

Wolf looked thoughtful at that. "Dreyfus, huh?" 

"He _attempted_ to send my son by himself against a full pride of Behemoths." He supplied. 

"'Attempted?'" Wolf prodded after a mouthful of potato. 

"I may or may not be on probation for strangling Dreyfus until the mission with both of us is queued." Vincent lifted his left hand enough to mimic a chokehold as he reached for his glass of water. 

"With...?" Thomas let out a low, impressed whistle at that. "I'm surprised he's not in Med Bay ICU." 

"Anika tempered my hold," he sighed, "though she did a little threatening of her own." 

"... I take it the pan's been returned to Turk protection." 

"Seeing as it did what it did, I'm not letting it leave at Turk territory unless it's in the hands of it's former owner or in the hands of my sons." Vincent pointed out as he peeled off the peanut butter cookie Anika had taped under the tray. He smiled at the sight of Sephiroth finding his own and sharing it. 

Wolf cleared his throat and Thomas did as well, both of them looking elsewhere as Vincent bit into his cookie. 

"What?" he inquired as they looked back at him. 

"You adopted the little Strife too?" 

"Of course." As if that was even in the realm of a question; Cloud had found a place in Vincent's heavily guarded heart immediately after meeting him.

* * *

**Mission Status: Active**

Vincent went in his formal Turk suit, the cloak and his leathers tucked away for when they left the city limits.

With Cerberus and both Quicksilvers strapped to him, he made his way to Director Dreyfus' office. 

It was clear he wasn't in the mood for a chat. 

Sephiroth joined him on the way, his son's face stoic as they matched their strides to arrive at the same time. Masamune was held carefully in order to maneuver the sword into and out of the room without too much trouble. 

They entered together and stood there before Veld acknowledged them first. 

"Strife, Sharpshooter." 

"Sir." They replied in sync. 

Dreyfus turned and paled at the sight of Vincent's clean gauntlet. "Strife, Sharpshooter." 

"Sir." Sephiroth's was respectful. 

"Sir." Vincent's bordered on congenial but his expression said otherwise. 

"You're to take down a pride of Behemoths which are getting too close to Midgar." Dreyfus supplied cautiously, never getting closer than a span of what Vincent judged to be about three feet. "Standard equipment, though you're allowed extra on this mission. The drop point will be a distance from Midgar and in the heart of Behemoth territory. You'll have to make it back by foot. Any questions?" 

"Will there be a map downloaded onto the mission PHS or are we to use a compass, sir?" Vincent asked, knowing that Sephiroth wouldn't. 

"The map will be downloaded, Sharpshooter. Tseng will drop you off via helicopter some distance from your target as to not attract attention. Be careful and make it back in one piece, you two. Understood?" Veld took over, noting Dreyfus's fearful glances at Vincent's gauntlet. 

"Yes sir!" 

"Dismissed. Be at the Heli-pad in ten."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment, complain, ect.


	25. The Shape of Freedom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Battle; mention of blood and injury

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhh, here we are at the end of Expedition! The next fic in line is A Memoir on Parenting by V. Valentine, Semi-Retired Turk, which is a sequel to this one! 
> 
> Enjoy with caution~

* * *

They made their way through ShinRa and sat at the edge of the Heli-pad, earlier than Veld's order. 

«Do you mind if we have company that can help?» He asked as Tseng ran maintenance checks alongside the ShinRa mechanics. 

«What sort of company?» Curious green locked with thoughtful crimson for a split second, Sephiroth choosing his, by now, favorite side and tucking himself next to Vincent's heart. 

«A hunter friend of mine. Behemoth horn and hide are rare on the market and he's capable of handling himself.» Vincent mentioned. «His name is Alric Fair, though feel free to use Mr. Fair. I... rescued his son from Touch-Mes in Gongaga on my way through.» 

«It would help to have another party member. Can he find us or are we finding him first?» Sephiroth shrugged, his hair snapping like a silver flag as Tseng started up the helicopter. 

Vincent gathered his son's hair and gave it a quick fishtail braid before they ducked into the cabin of the 'copter. Tseng handed over noise-canceling headphones and motioned that they were taking off to those still on the Heli-pad. 

«The latter, I think.» he replied as he adjusted his and Sephiroth's mics once they were in the air. 

_Vincent: Are you still on the East?_

**Alric: Depends on what you got**

_Vincent: Behemoths_

**Alric: lucky me and you**

**Alric: I'm in Junon**

**Alric: Give me a couple of hrs?**

**Alric: Coordinates and can I share?**

_Vincent: here_

_Vincent: I'd rather you didn't_

_Vincent: It's Shiva related_

Shiva, which in hunter code stood for one thing; ShinRa. 

**Alric: Gotcha**

**Alric: See you soon!**

* * *

Vincent jumped from the helicopter, giving Tseng a two-fingered salute as he dropped from a height that would've broken another Turk's legs. Sephiroth followed with a spin that distributed the force and landed with a perfect flip next to him. 

Sephiroth waved briefly before he detangled the fishtail and bound it into the Wutainese topknot Vincent had taught him months ago. 

Vincent tied his own length into a high ponytail and glanced down at his suit. Leathers were a bad idea in the plains but so was facing Behemoths in only vaguely bulletproof fabric. 

"Son, I need to change. Do you mind scouting for a bit?" He asked. 

Sephiroth spun on his heel and activated his Libra Materia with a familiar yellow glow. "Of course, Chichue." 

Vincent changed quickly and sought Sephiroth out with his own Libra activated. It wouldn't do to let the Behemoths know they were there yet, not with the pride on full alert with still-growing cubs. 

The rock formation had a high back and craggy drops that wouldn't allow anything not them to climb it without falling. He'd have to help Alric up and down during the hunt, it seemed. 

"A most excellent choice, my son." he purred softly as he set foot on the platform, barely catching the dagger Sephiroth threw directly at him. "A highly defensive spot to put a Camping Set." 

"I've... I've been reading the books... you left in the living room." Sephiroth's fearful glance told Vincent more than he wanted to know, rage and sorrow waging war in his heart. "I'm sorry. Mom said it was alright and—" 

"Seeing as they're meant for you, I should certainly hope so." Vincent soothed, opening his body language and grunting as Sephiroth buried his face against Vincent's chest. "As I told you before, you are the greatest gift I have ever been given. I bought those to help you; they're yours. Did you get the chance to read the fiction?" 

"I've only made my way through three of them." His son responded a little more confidently. 

"The top three or...?" He prodded gently. 

"The top. What's fiction?" 

Rage won out briefly but never was it directed at Sephiroth. "It's... They're stories. They're the tales of people who don't exist except in the context of the story. They teach, they entertain... They're for fun." 

"I brought one." The response was so quiet Vincent almost didn't catch it. "The one with the blue cover and the stars." 

"The Adventures of Astro Naut," he chuckled softly. "My favorite when I was your age." 

"... Really?" Wide green eyes looked up in awe. 

"That's my copy. I gave it to you in the hopes that you might enjoy it. Now, as the mission technically doesn't start until tommorrow, shall we train or read?" Vincent offered. 

"Both?" His son suggested, his hand flexing around the handle of Masamune. 

"Training first then. Up the to the top of formation and back," 

"Like Tag." Sephiroth asserted. 

"Like Tag." he relented with a smile. "You're It!"

* * *

After Tag, they found a water source and avoided the Cuahls and the resident Behemoth pride. The one they were after was technically encroaching on that of the resident pride's territory but he wasn't going to give into Hellmasker's grumbling. 

The demons were on high alert, Chaos and Hellmasker chafing that they could take care of it quickly; that Sephiroth wouldn't have a scratch on him. 

Vincent shoved them to the side and reminded them that though Sephiroth was his son, _their_ son by choice, he was quite capable of killing his own Behemoths. 

He taught Sephiroth that monsters didn't attack unprovoked, though some types more than others would attack humans for reasons not immediately discernible or for no reason at all. 

Western monsters were more likely to do so, though there were exceptions. 

They filled their water canteens and jugs and left as quietly as they'd come. 

Vincent collected shed Cuahl and Behemoth whiskers to give to Alric in case the hunt left them empty-handed. 

They bedded down for the night, meal tins washed and boiled for safety reasons. 

Vincent used his cloak as a pillow, the thin foam mats under them padded by the ShinRa-issued sleeping bags. 

He began as his Father had before him, reading until Sephiroth's breathing deepened into sleep. "Chapter One: Astro's Journey to The Stars..." 

Gently closing the book, Vincent marked their spot and drew Cerberus, secure in the knowledge that nothing would bother them in the night.

* * *

Sephiroth was awake shortly before dawn, signaling that Vincent could get some shut eye. 

It was to his son's voice that he regained conciousness, "You are correct that this is not Sharpshooter." 

""Could you leave him a message then?"" Alric asked. 

Vincent motioned that Sephiroth hand over his PHS. "No need, Alric, my son and I will convene with you shortly." 

""That's your son? He sounded..."" 

"Mmm. Set your ping for me?" 

""Can do, Sharpshooter."" 

Alric hung up and Sephiroth glanced at him with a wordless question in his eyes. 

"You're wondering why Alric is calling me by my Turk name." Sephiroth's grip on Masamune creaked but Vincent didn't mind answering this question. "Before I knew you were safe, I used my Turk name to make my way across the Western Continent to the East." 

"You were in the West?" Sephiroth asked as they packed up and shuffled the camp to look as though it were undisturbed by a human presence. 

Vincent debated with himself for a moment and then admitted quietly, "You'll find we share more in common than I'd like, sometimes; Hojo also used me as a subject. Your Mother... She pieced me back together but was not without her faults. Some of what I have is her work, not his. I was healing, while you were..." 

He trailed off, not wanting to bring up too much of the past in one day. Sephiroth reached for his gauntlet, his right hand small in Vincent's left as they made their way through the forest. 

Sephiroth hummed softly, "I remember someone, someone not Hojo. He called me... He called me sunshine. He kissed my shots better. I don't remember much else other than that he was blond and nice and didn't hurt me." 

"His name was Fenris Strife," Vincent replied. "and he raised you until you were four. ShinRa dismissed him after Hojo declared that you were ready for more work." 

" _Oh._ " Sephiroth's voice held a world of heartbreak in it. "He said he had to go but that he didn't want to." 

"No, I don't think he would've left you on purpose." He reassured as they neared Alric's PHS ping. "A word of warning, my son, Alric is... enthusiastic." 

Vincent paused, the unnatural silence of the forest an indication that not all was well. He gently removed his hand from Sephiroth's and used Nibel hand signs to convey that they were likely close to the Behemoth pride's den. 

**Alric: Sharp, I'd appreciate some help**

Attached was a photo of Alric less than ten feet from the den and behind a tree. 

_Vincent: On my way now_

_Vincent: It'll get loud very quickly_

_Vincent: and for that I'll apologize_

Sephiroth snuck off to the side and up the rock that was above the den, massive inhales and huffs indicating the sleeping state of the pride. His son gave the 'Ready' signal and Vincent jumped, firing Cerberus at the pride's male. 

The leader roared, bleeding heavily from the triple-shot to the neck. 

Sephiroth dove under the largest female, using Masamune to maximum effect. 

The female tried to roar but choked, blood spraying as she began her death throes. 

Sephiroth barely dodged another female's wicked claws. He snapped out Masamune to shear through the thick tendon. 

Vincent had his hands full with the coalition leader now tracking him. 

He fired again, only to have the Behemoth's natural resistance shatter the bullets. 

**_Host, perhaps it is time we joined the fight?_** Chaos offered as the other male Behemoth zeroed in on Sephiroth. 

_... Very well._ Vincent sighed, releasing his control.

The transformation this time was swift and short, both of them in agreement that their son needed to be safe.

* * *

Chaos turned on the first Behemoth, claws digging into the chin and upper jaw of the male and pulling them apart.

Once he had enough leverage, Chaos snapped the male's neck, moving onto the next pride member. 

Sephiroth fighting was a sight Vincent never wanted to see again.

His son was doing him proud with the swift, merciful kills. 

Chaos killed the second male, scoffing when it bit down on his arm. 

The claws cut through the Behemoth like butter and closed upon the top of the spine. He ripped the spine out of the Behemoth, baring his teeth at the remaining pride members. 

The decimated pride wilted at that, the two females looking from their dead leaders to Chaos and back. 

The cubs whimpered, pressed underneath their mothers. 

Chaos paused, inhaled and roared, proclaiming the territory as his own.

The females wilted further and then rolled over, bellies up as they surrendered. He snorted at that and turned to see his adopted son and Vincent's hunter friend covered in blood. 

"... Chichiue?" 

"Vincent?" 

"I am neither of those things currently, though I am a part of him. I take you'd like him back?" Chaos rumbled, proud of his adopted son's skill. 

"Ahh, yes." The hunter murmured, digging around in his item pouch for something. 

Chaos looked Sephiroth over, noticed the shaking and then grunted as Sephiroth hugged him. "Oof! Little one, what are you-?" 

"Thank you." It was muffled, pressed as Sephiroth was to his sternum but Chaos melted. 

"...You're welcome." Chaos hesitantly reached up and then slowly stroked through the blood-tinged silver with his slightly-cleaner claws. He started rumbling, softly at first and then louder as Sephiroth stayed. 

_I had feared his reaction._ Vincent murmured, the wash of affection and love he felt for their son shared by Chaos. 

**_Hnn, our son is being raised well, it seems._** he responded, the strands trailing through his claws starting to stick from the blood. **_I shall return within to heal._**

_Thank you for offering._

**_None needed, Host; I merely beat the rest to the punch._** Chaos purred in satisfaction as the remainder of Vincent's Limit Breaks grumbled.

* * *

Vincent came to with his son still pressed against his chest. 

"Sephiroth-" 

"Chichiue!" Sephirith hugged him even tighter, cracking his back in the process, before releasing him. "Who was that?" 

"That was... Chaos. He's a..." Vincent hesitated, revised his words and continued with, "He's an ally of ours." 

"Are you alright? That's a lot of blood, Vincent." Alric had a Curaga glowing green on his Materia bracer and Sephiroth looked between the two of them. 

Vincent flexed the bitten arm, grimaced and said, "Most of it belongs to the Behemoths. Is there a stream where we can...?" 

"Rinse off? Yeah, about ten feet that way. I hope you brought extra clothes." came the helpful suggestion. 

"We packed more than the ShinRa standard, if that's what you're asking." Vincent snorted as he started walking that way. "Sephiroth, are you alright?" 

"I think so, Chichiue." His son reached for his gauntlet again and Vincent let him keep it. «Is Chaos because of Him or my Mother?» The shrewd question in Nibel had him chuckling softly; trust his son to get to the heart of things. 

«... Your Mother but Chaos is also the reason I'm here. I do not wish to keep secrets from you but that was something I didn't expect for you to see.» he answered honestly. 

«Is he always that nice?» Sephiroth asked as they stripped out of their bloodied clothes and down to their underwear, the stream lukewarm from the Materia chips that rested within it. 

Vincent hummed, «Not always, no, but he's got a soft spot for you and for Alric's son.» 

Sephiroth's scars, stark against his son's pale skin, made him grit his teeth and inhale to calm himself. He reached for Vincent's scars, the deep pink of them different from Sephiroth's set, the Valentine wings burgundy in the afternoon light. 

They scrubbed quickly as Alric kept watch. Vincent dried them off with a combination Aero/Fira and dressed back in his suit, leaving the jacket off as he wiped down his leathers with a damp cloth, the cloth coming away red for quite some time. 

Sephiroth scrubbed his uniform down with ShinRa formulated soap, his expression contemplative as the blood swirled in the water and disappeared, dressed in the spare uniform he'd packed at Vincent's insistence. 

They hung them to dry on branches. Vincent showed Sephiroth how to cast Barrier so that the wind could go through the cloth but nothing else was able to as Alric took his own bath. 

Sephiroth examined his already healing arm and frowned. "Won't you get a scar?" 

"I don't think so." He offered, both of them watching as his skin knit and smoothed as though Behemoth fangs had never punctured the skin. "Don't do what I did, Sephiroth. I still don't know the full extent of what was done to me. Be careful." 

"Yes, Chichiue." 

"Sharp, you need a... Cure. I could've sworn that thing had your arm in it's mouth." Alric toweled at his hair, the small towel draping around his neck as he looked at Vincent's arm in concern. 

"It did." 

Alric inhaled, exhaled a long sigh and grumbled in Gongogan under his breath before, "Praise be t' Typhoon that that sorry sack of dragon dung is flower food. Either of you good with a camp cooking pot?" 

"We'll cook if you provide the food. ShinRa MREs leave something to be desired, if you know what I mean." Vincent snorted. 

"Tasteless, helpless an' hopeless in that order. Yeah, I got ingredients." came the dry response. 

Vincent took the opportunity to teach Sephiroth how to use the environment around him as cooking utensils and cutting boards. They prepared the meat by roasting it over the fire with bark grease catchers they dumped into the base stock. 

The stew took under an hour, merrily bubbling away over the camp fire. 

With his son pressed against his side, warm stew in his belly and a friend on watch, Vincent leaned back to admire the stars. 

He'd missed many things, trapped as he'd been in the coffin, but the open freedom of the sky he'd missed most of all—though now he was reminded of someone with sky blue eyes that crinkled at the corners when he smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comment, complain, ect.


End file.
